The Power of Prayer

James 5:13-16

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 [j]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, [k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 [j]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, [k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Quickword : The Power of Prayer

This passage in James opens with a series of rhetorical questions that address the state of our human conditions. Is any among us suffering? Is anyone cheerful, is anyone sick. These questions remind us of the ups and downs of our human condition. The text also provides us a solution and that is in everything we should pray. This Quickword is just a reminder to you and to me that there is power in prayer.

• The fragility of humanity requires the power of the divine to flourish.

• Regardless of our human conditions we have been given the great privilege to approach the throne of Grace of God.

• There is power in prayer for the children of God.

Again this text addresses the gamut of the human condition. It further gives us a word on what we can do individually and collectively in all situations and that is to pray. When we are suffering , pray. When we are sick pray. When we are cheerful, pray. When we are grieving, pray. When we are sad, pray. When life is going well, pray. When we pray, the pain of suffering is soothed, when we are sick, the power of prayer can lead to healing. When we are sad, pray can turn sadness into joy. Beloved it, there is power in prayer. The effective fervent prayer of the righteous avails much. This morning, I’m praying for you and I ask you to pray for me. We serve a God who still hears and answers our prayers. There is power in prayer.

Dear God in Heaven, we come before your throne of Grace, acknowledging that you are God who has all power in your hand. God as we approach the throne of your grace, we come knowing that you know in advance of our human conditions. God you know about our sickness, God you know about our pain. God you know about our successes and our failures. God you know about our families and jobs. God you know about our what the situations and circumstances that we face even on today. We come today calling on your name because we know there is power in prayer. There is healing, there is deliverance, there is peace and protection in prayer. God hear our cries that come before you on this day. We thank you for what you have already done, we thank you for what you are going to do and we thank you for what you are doing right now. Thank you for the privilege seeing a brand new day, God, we will be careful to give you name all the honor and glory, this is your servants prayer in the name of Jesus! Amen!