When You Pray- 3

 When You Pray- 3

December 6, 2024

James 5:13-18 (NASB95) 

13Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

James offers some practical teaching on prayer that cover most every situation. Are you felling down? Then pray. Are you feeling up? Then pray and praise. Are you sick? Then pray. Is someone else sick? Then pray for them. Is there any sin? Then pray for forgiveness. Did anyone sin against you? Then forgive them and pray for them. Do you need rain? Pray. Too much rain? Pray…. Basically, no matter what is happening… pray! That’s the same thing that Paul said when he said to “pray without ceasing”. But James lays it out in more practical situations so you have no excuse but to pray, no matter what is happening.