James 5:13-16

Passage

If anyone in you suffers misfortune, let them pray.  If anyone is cheerful, let them sing praise.  If anyone in you is sick, let them call the elders of the church and let them make requests to God upon him after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  The pray of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has been committing sin, it will be forgiven to him.  Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray on behalf of one another so that you all should be healed.  A prayer of the righteous accomplishes much while being at work.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

James now turns to the power of prayer.  I like to begin the study of this section with James’ conclusion.  The prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much while it is at work.  I agree with the old adage that prayer is both the most neglected and most useful tool that we have.  Prayer is the means of our relationship with God.  Prayer is our ability to get on the same page as God while acknowledging those things in our life that are the most important.

Do you value prayer?  How do you use prayer in your life?

Second Thought:

Let us go back to the beginning of this passage.  James encourages us to pray in misfortune.  He encourages us to sing praise to God when we are cheerful.  He encourages us to gather in prayer over the sick.  James is telling us that any circumstance is an opportunity to come before the Lord.  Whether we are celebrating, worried, ill, or otherwise down we can come into the presence of the Lord.

Do you live as though you can come into the presence of the Lord regardless of your circumstance?  How is this accomplished?  How might this section help increase within us our thankfulness regarding what Jesus has done for us?

Third Thought:

James also speaks about prayer in the midst of community.  James tells us to confess to one another so that we can hold each other up in prayer.  In one sense, James is talking about accountability here.  In another sense, James is talking about communal support.  We can lift one another up in our struggle against our nature both in expectation and encouragement.  We are often most successful in our spiritual walk when we don’t walk alone.

Who is your community?  Do you have anyone with whom you confess?  Who encourages you?

Passage for Tomorrow: James 5:17-18