Connection To A Burden

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. – James 5:16-17 
 
Have you ever listened to someone pray and thought, “Wow, that was a power-packed prayer!” Maybe it was your pastor, your mentor, or someone in your small group. It’s amazing that as children of God, we can pray with strength, power, and boldness because of Christ. But it breaks my heart that, oftentimes, most Christians don’t pray with power, mainly because they don’t know how.  
 
Have you ever wondered what it takes to pray with power? If you have, that’s exactly what we’re going to learn about over the next couple of days. Specifically, we’re going to hone in on one specific phrase from our key Scripture passage in James that says, “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Maybe you’re wondering what that statement means or how that applies to your own walk with Jesus. Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to look at today and tomorrow. So let’s dive in.  
 
The first thing we’re going to need if we want to pray with power is a connection to a burden. Is there something in your life that is burdening you? You might have a wayward friend, a wayward child, or a poor relationship in your marriage. The kinds of prayers that God answers are those connected to a burden. God wants you to live a life that is sensitive. Wherever the burden is in your heart, run there. 
 
Now, if the burden you’re facing isn’t one that is listed above, you might be wondering how you find a burden. Well, usually, you don't have to look for a burden, rather the burden finds you. If you have to think about it, then you have no burden. You have no heaviness. If you are living life without a burden, you are just existing. The burden finds you, and it finds you when you start walking with God. 
 
You need to allow the Spirit of God to probe your heart as you ask yourself a question. Why don't you have a burden? You might have a concern, and you may have some sympathy, but why don’t you have a burden? Here is the answer. You are not spending enough time with God! 
 
To take an example from the Old Testament, that's what Elijah did, and maybe that's all Elijah needed to do. He spent time alone with God. The way you will connect with the burden is to spend time alone with God. When you become sensitive enough to Him, you will become burdened with those things that burden Him.