Word Studies:
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Effectual Fervent - Greek - "ENERGEO" - (en-erg-eh-o)
"The EFFECTUAL FERVENT prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16
LEXICONS:
Strong's - #1754 - TO be active, efficient, do (be) effectual, fervent, be mighty in, shew forth self, work effectually in. Comes from "energes"-active, operative, effectual, powerful.
Young's Concordance - To work in, effectual working, effectual fervent.
Bullinger - To at work, be in active operation. To show one's self active, to be active; operate. To energize or be energized.
Arndt & Gingrich - Work, be at work, be effective; that which produces something in someone. To produce effect.
e.g. Passions at work in our members. Rom. 7:5
Patience which becomes affective in enduring. Cor. 1:6
Death working in us. 2 Cor. 4:12
The power that worked in us. Eph. 3:20
Faith working through love. Gal. 5:6
The mystery of lawlessness is at work. 2 Thess. 2:7
Effective prayer. James 5:6
Baker's Interlinear N.T. - Much prevails the supplication of a righteous man operative.
Thayer's - Thing wrought, effect, operation, workings. Put forth power.
Vines - To put forth power, be operative, to work, to work effectually, to be effectual; to avail much in its working, or in its in working, that is in the effect produced in the praying man, bringing him into line with the will of God.
Wigram's Concordance - Show forth selves, did work, worketh, is effectual, wrought effectually, was mighty, works in, wrought, effectually worketh, doth work, effectual fervent.
Robinson - To work, to be effective, operative, etc.
Barclay - God's power becomes effective through prayer. Prayer is empowering contact with God. Prayer is not only a gateway to God for us, it is a channel for God to us.
Liddell and Scott - To work; be active.
Moulton and Milligan - Effective working.
Lampe - To be in action or activity; operate, used of divine or supernatural action. To be effective; effect, contrive, bring to pass. To be influenced or affected by.
Kubo - Be at work, operate, be effective; effective prayer.
Giles - To perform in. Influence and be energetic.
Divry's - Act, operate, effect, take measures.
Collins - Act, take steps, take effect, work.
Peter Davids - The energetic prayer - prayer actualized by the Holy Spirit. Ordinary members in good standing whose prayer is powerful.
Souter - In the N. T. the word is generally connected with miraculous interpositions.
T. S. - Green - Full of energy, fervent, taking effect, communicating energy and efficiency.
Ricker-Berry's Interlinear - The operative supplication of a righteous man prevails much.
E. H. Plumptre - ENERGEO here describes the character of a prayer which is more than the utterance of mere human feeling. It is a prayer in which the Holy Spirit itself is making intercession with us. See Romans 8:28
Martin Dibelius - The word includes earnest, forceful, exerted, active, vivacious, and animated.
Francis Trench - Energetically
Bloomfields N. T. - The earnest energetic prayers have great efficacy.
WM. Trollope - It is in- wrought by the Holy Spirit, offered with the energy of faith.
Harold K Moulton - Most of the instances of ENERGEO are of divine activity. The word connotes divine activity and a closer translation would by "The inspired prayer". It is a prayer that is effective because God is working in the man who prays.
Lenski - A righteous one's petition avails a great deal when putting forth its energy. That is when made energetic or becoming or making itself energetic. A righteous person's begging does avail much when it is putting forth it's energy, namely in most earnest, continuous, preserving pleading. Examples: the Canaanite woman; the importunate widow (Luke 18:1-8).
Alford's Greek Testament - Avails much in its working. Strenuous, intent, and earnest. The prayer of a righteous man can do much in its working. That is does work, this in assumed: that, besides working, it avails much, this is what James puts forward, and confirms by the following example of Elijah.
Cremer - To active and energetic, to effect, to prove oneself strong. To make oneself felt by energetic working.
Donnegan - To perform in, to influence, to operate in or upon, to be under some active influence.
Webster and Wilkinson - Very powerful is the supplication of a righteous man in its energizing influence, when it does its work ENERGEO is prayer in-wrought in the soul with all the affections and powers of the mind. Compare the expression "wrestling in prayer".
Robertson's Word Pictures - Avails much, has much force. Effectual fervent, in its working, that is, when it works, or when it is exercised.
Bengel - Avails (even for another) much (even to the restoration of health); a righteous man (who is himself involved in no fall into sin); effectual (efficacy is followed by a favorable hearing: by this, prayer avails). So there are three things: efficacy of prayer, a favorable hearing, and the availing.
Abbott-Smith - Of some principle or power at work. To be actuated - set in operation.
Joseph Mayor - The word in the New Testament is always used of some principle or power at work whether in the soul of elsewhere. Here (in James 5:16) prayer actuated or inspired by the Spirit. In wrought prayer.
Barclay Newman - ENERGEO is generally used of supernatural activity. James 5:16 the ENERGEO prayer has powerful effects.
Valpy's New Testament - Inspired in wrought prayer, the prayer to which a man of God is incited by the Holy Spirit.
Dawsons - To operate powerfully, work energetically, to give powerful assistance. Literally, a work inside.
Parkhurst's - To operate, act powerfully, put forth power. Acting, assisting, giving necessary powers, miraculous operation, to effect, accomplish; ardent, earnest, assiduous, laborious. On James 5:16, "The inspired prayer of a righteous man, wrought in him by the energy of the Holy Spirit." The Syriac has "Prayer poured forth by a good man."
Tyro's - Work within, produce, effect; show themselves, are displayed, I exert myself, operate, operating, that is, exerted so as to be assiduous and fervent.
Bloomfields Greek - Literally, to in-work; to be effective, to produce certain effects. Example "The power of miracles works in Him" means 'miracles are wrought by Him'. To show oneself active, to operate, be active, etc. James 5:16 The prayer there spoken of (is) not a faint, lifeless prayer, or rather Mental Wish, but one wrought out and carried into effect by being conceived in words directly addressed to the Throne of Grace.
W. Barclay's New Testament Words - "...(having) the meaning of vitality as opposed to deadness, activity as opposed to idleness, efficiency as opposed to uselessness, effective activity as opposed to ineffectiveness.
COMMENTARIES
Word Biblical Comm. - "At first glance James has such an unbounded confidence in the power of prayer that nothing seems impossible in v. 15 looks to be granted in such an unequivocal way that the results are automatic and inevitable. But this cannot be so, for a number of reasons. James has earlier noted that some prayers do fail (4:1-3) just as some prayers succeed (1:5-6). Much depends on the motive of the person who prays. . .All prayer is bounded by the providence ad sovereign favor of God, who knows believers' truest needs and may not grant their natural requests in just the way they would choose."
Calvin's Commentaries - "In case anyone should think that there is no benefit gained by others praying for us, he set out the usefulness and effect of prayer. He explicitly calls it the supplication of a righteous man, for God does not listen to the wicked, and the only approach to God is through a good conscience. Not that our prayers depend on our own worthiness, but because we must have a heart purged by faith, in order to present oursleves before God's sight. James therefore testifies that there is benefit, and no lack of effect, in the righteous and faithful men praying for us."
MacArthur's Commentary - "Weak prayers come from weak people; strong prayers come from strong people. The energetic prayers of a righteous man are potent force in calling down the power of God for restoring weak, struggling believers to spiritual health."
New Testament Commentary, Simon Kistemaker - "Who is a righteous man? We are inclined to look to spiritual giants, to the heroes of faith, and to men and women of God. In our opinion they are the people who through prayer are able to move mountains. But James mentions no nanms, except that of Elijah with the qualification that he is "just like us" (v. 17). He means to say that any believer whose sins have been forgiven and who prays in faith is righteous. When he prays, his prayers are "powerful and effective."
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