First Baptist Blowing Rock

In James 5:16, The King James Version translates James' promises that "the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much". In a more modern translation it is given as "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective", another says "The effective and passionate prayer of the righteous works" yet most followers of Christ would not honestly describe their personal prayer life as being "powerful" or "effective" and even fewer might say that they feel it "works"; so is James wrong or are we missing something? If Jesus tells His followers in the Sermon on the Mount that we now have his righteousness and that the powerful Holy Spirit is now dwelling inside of us, why is prayer so difficult and why do many Christians not feel their prayers are effective? Is it the way we pray, the amount of time we prayer or maybe it is the words we use? In the middle of his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus slips in what many consider to be