James 5:13-18 (NLT)
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
In these verses from the Apostle James we are directed
how to act, both under affliction and in prosperity. There is to be prayer for
the sick and Christians are directed to acknowledge their faults one to
another, and to pray one for another. Then finally we are to see the results of
prayer as prayers have been established in our lives.
E. M. Bounds, in his book “Power Through Prayer” said,
“We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new
plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and
efficiency for the gospel . . . The Church is looking for better methods; God
is looking for better men.”
God has given us many ways accomplish prayer like: Personal prayer, Public prayer, Meditative
prayer, Intercessory prayer, Prevailing
Prayer, Prayer without ceasing. All
these and more were given to us in order to facilitate a culture and life of
prayer. However in 2005, LifeWay Christian Resources surveyed more than 1,300
evangelical leaders from around the world to determine what they perceived to
be the "Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church." Number one was Prayer:
The need for more ongoing, passionate prayer in both personal and church life.
We need righteous people earnestly praying for our
nation, for our leaders, for our churches, for our people. Will you be one of
those willing to pray?
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