13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Isanyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? Youshould sing praises. - P60
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sickperson well; the Lord will raise them up. If they havesinned, they will be forgiven.
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. - P60
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and prayfor each other so that you may be healed. The prayer ofa righteous person is powerful and effective.
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 wonderfulresults. - P61
Believers must not swear by heaven or earth or anything else. Those in troubleshould pray. Those who are happy should sing praises. Those who are sickshould call the church elders to pray over them. The prayer of a righteousperson is powerful. Whoever turns a sinner from their errors will save themfrom death. - P61
James reminds us of Christ‘s teaching that we need not swear uponanything in heaven or earth when we make our vows but simply letour "Yes" be yes and "No" be no. - P62
He then moves on from the ungodlyspeech that believers should avoid to teach us how we might use ourwords to bring life, healing, and restoration to others. - P62
When we livein the flesh, our untamed tongues spout out slander and boasting, butby thepower of the Holy Spirit, we can use our mouths for prayer andpraise. - P62
In sickness, we ought to ask for prayer from the church, andwhen we sin, let us humbly confess our wrongdoings out loud to theLord who hears everything we say and graciously forgives us. - P62
James shares the example of the Old Testament prophet Elijah todemonstrate the power of prayer. - P62
To believers, Elijah certainly standsout as one of the greatest prophets, as he experienced incredible divineencounters like no other. - P62
Yet, James reminds us that he was just a human being like all of us There was nothing intrinsically special aboutElijah nor any other man or woman of God in biblical history. - P62
The keyto their greatness lay in the greatness of the God to whom they prayed.
- P62
For Christians today, one of the most powerful prayers we can pray isfor the salvation of lost souls. - P62
Only God can turn the sinner back toHim, so let us earnestly pray for those who do not know the Lord. - P62
"Prayer is the nearest approach to God, and the highest enjoyment of Him, thatwe are capable of in this life." - William Law - P62
But Scripture and its divine Author do not think of prayer as a separate prologue to action. - P63
The Bible shows that prayer is an action withgame-changing consequences. - P63
That said, as James reminds us, prayeris effective when it comes from a righteous person. It should thereforenot come as a surprise to us that the world finds prayer ineffective.
We, on the other hand, have been made righteous in Christ, and ourFather has promised to answer every request we bring to Him (Matt.7:7).
- P63
The world‘s cynicism should not intimidate us into prayerlessness.
Whether God answers according to our expectations or does some-thing new, it is cause for rejoicing. - P63
And if He seems silent, let it en-courage us to ask for His view of the situation and for Him to teach usHis heart and thoughts so that we may know Him better. - P63
Father, thank you for giving me the privilege of coming before Your throneof grace in prayer. - P63
Help me to speak words to those around me that bringlife, comfort, and healing, as befits those who call upon Your name.
In Jesus‘name, amen. - P63
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