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. James 5:16
Many of us who are followers of Christ find ourselves saying, "I'm praying for you" to others when they are going through difficult times. How often do we actually follow through on the promise? I know I haven't always followed through every time I promised to pray for someone. Even with the best intentions, I sometimes forget. Now, when someone asks for prayer, I usually ask if I can pray for them right in that moment so that I will not forget. Prayer, my friends, is powerful, especially when we pray together.
James 5:16 expresses the importance of praying in community. "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other," James writes. In writing this, James is calling for a culture of prayer. As followers of Jesus, we are to pray for each other. We are to carry each other's burdens and talk to God about them. This is part of living in community together. This command to pray for each other is especially poignant for husbands and wives. After all, husbands and wives have the honor of sharing life together and sharing each other's burdens.
As you read James 16, did you catch the promise to those who pray? "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results," this verse says. In other words, prayer is powerful. It also has "wonderful" results. This means that no prayer we ever pray is prayed in vain. This is the promise we have when we pray.
When you pray, are your prayers focused on yourselves, or do you take time to pray for others, too? If you are married, do you spend time praying for your spouse? My friend, let's pray for our people. Let's pray for the people around us. Let's walk alongside each other and hold each other up.
Take time today to pray with others. If you are married, take some time to pray with your spouse. If you are single, pray with a close friend or family member. As you pray, voice your concerns to God and trust that He will take care of you.
Read James 5:13-18 (NLT)
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 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. 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.
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. 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! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
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