series: Acting in grace together #
verse: James 5:13-20 #
Pray for one another. Don’t be afraid to ask for prayer in times of need.
Main Idea: #
Prayer has the power to change lives. If anyone is suffering in any capacity, let that man pray.
But that begs the question: Are there differences in who prays for us?
And fortunately for believers, there is. The prayer of a righteous person has a great impact. “Is anyone among you sick, so sick that the body the church cannot pray for you. Call for the elders, the leaders of the church, to come pray for you”. Now obviously this doesn’t sound necessarily good or fair on paper. “Shouldn’t everyone pray for one another?”. We’ll dive deeper into this topic later on in the sermon.
“Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.” When you pray with one another, you can be forgiven by God and also experience spiritual restoration.
Why is our prayer not always answered or delayed? #
Our God knows what’s best for us. Sometimes the healing of our problems is not the solution. We have to acknowledge that we are not in control. Imagine you as a child asked for things and your parents said “yes” every single time. This would be a terrible situation. This is the same relationship we have with God. God will not always say “Yes”.
Why does James call us to pray to God then? #
It’s because when we pray to God, it aligns our hearts to the will of God. We acknowledge that God is better than us and takes away our pride. We acknowledge that God is better than us. We are not our own God.
What’s the impact of prayer? #
A good life. There are those that pray fervantly and continuously over our well-being, for our peace, for our healing. There is no guarantee that the suffering will go away, but we will find joy and peace amidst our suffering. It will also strengthen us to endure in our trials.
A righteous person doesn’t mean we have to be a perfect person #
Sinful people can also be righteous. Elijah was sinful, insecure, and had a lot of worries. And yet his prayer worked because he prayed continuously and earnestly. Sickness and prayer are related. It is not outside the realm of possibility that God is keeping us sick so that we can grow closer to him. There is power when we pray and cry out together. Completely open and weap. “God we need you. God now I really desire for you to work in my life.” are prayers that we should constantly remind ourselves with.
Call to action #
To pray daily and fervantly for not only myself, but also those around me. For it is my responsibility and calling to do as such.
Prayer: God we thank you for reminding us of how poweful prayer can be. Lord we confess together: we are so stupid sometimes, not acknowledging how powerful prayer is. Being deceived by the enemy to not pray regularly and not put prayer as a priority in our lives. You’ve shown us how much prayer really matters. God could you burn our hearts with such passion for your kingdom. That we would become people that dont just pray in suffering but also in times of rejoicing. Yoy are a s sovereign, faithful, all knowing and, powerful God who is always fulfilling your perfect will. So god we want to thank you and we ask you to give us the confidence to not be ashamed to be people who fervantly pray.