2 Chronicles 13:22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.

Who is Iddo? Why does Iddo have a story that tells tales of anyone of more renown than himself? For that fact who am I and why do I have a story about Jesus Christ?

Our witness, our story, the one which is real, relevant, and connects with a lost and dying world is not about Jesus Christ. It is about what Christ has done for us and thru us.  Any skeptic can deny your knowing a man who lived two thousand years ago, but they cannot deny who you were and who you are today.

Never heard of Iddo? Me either. Yet here his name is written in the bible. He is a minor prophet. Well so am I. I don’t have my name written in the bible, but Iddo does. My name is written in another book, one with seven seals, one in which my name cannot be read because only Jesus is worthy to loosen the seals and read my name.

How do I know my name is written in that book? Because I am a witness to what Jesus Christ has done in me and thru me. That fact, like my name in the book with seven seals, cannot be taken from me. The power in the telling comes from a place real and visible for all to see. The lost might not be able to see Jesus, but they can see me.

Read 2 Chronicles 13:22 like this:

And the rest of the acts of Jesus Christ, and His ways, and His sayings, are written in my story.

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The Greek word for fervent is zeo. It is the root for zealous, it means heat. The Greek word zeo is not found in James 5:16. Rather the Greek word energeo is translated effectual fervent. The reason it is translated this way is not apparent unless you translate the most commonly used word for energeo which is work.

The work prayer of a righteous man avails much doesn’t carry forward the idea set in place by the previous sentence, that being the power to heal. This is one of those cases where a word for word replacement text cannot carry the contextual understanding of the experience.

Neither can the idea of effectual fervent prayer carry the contextual understanding without the insinuation of the power to heal. We cannot heal, the power to heal resides in God manifested in us thru the Holy Spirit. Neither can we be effectually fervent in prayer without that same Holy Spirit.

Think of it in this way, the power to heal is released by the prayer only if the two are connected much in the same way that the hammer on a pistol is released only if the trigger is pulled. I can tell myself that I pulled the trigger but I am neither the trigger nor the hammer.

I would like to think that the people in those times had an experience which allowed them to make this connection without further explanation. Now, here we are two thousand years removed from the events trying to replicate the experience without those transitional thoughts.

Romans 12:10-12 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Fervent in spirit; instant in prayer; make the connection.