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Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20)
Who taught you how to pray? I had several great teachers, my grandmother Petra, among the chief teachers. I credit my mother and father with having much impact on my life and prayer life. I must also say that learning to pray is a daily lesson, one in which we constantly learn, not to the point where we say, like some, I don't pray because I don't know how, but rather, prayer is such a wonderful journey that I seek every day to learn more about God and myself, and others, as I talk to and list to, God. One of my earliest prayer memories is a sad one; I had a beautiful Collie, she looked just like Lassie in the TV show. Her desire was to catch a car, getting as close to the tires as she could until that sad day she went up against a Coca-Cola truck there alongside our home on a caliche road. The truck ran right over her and my grandmother and I saw the whole thing. My grandmother dragged the still breathing dog to the side of the curb, I remember just crying away. All my grandmother could think to say was for me to pray. It helped my crying, and helped my grieving, but it gave me that assurance that even against such a foe as death, we had a voice and a ready audience in God.
James starts this passage with a question that many of us can answer yes to; "Are any among you suffering?" The answer is yes. Suffering never seems to stop for some, and suffering takes all kinds of shapes and forms. James offers the solution knowing the answer: "They should pray." Prayer is that connection of hope and love with God even in the midst of suffering.
James then asks, "Are any cheerful?" answering again without awaiting a response: "They should sing songs of praise," knowing that singing is a blessing to the heart; and songs of praise are double prayers of gratitude and thankfulness. If you're truly cheerful this morning, roll up the windows of your car and sing as loud as you can to a song that praises God this morning!
James asks if any among us are sick. His response is that we should call for those mature and faithful in the faith to pray over the sick, even anointing the sick with oil in the name of the Lord; for we have no other name by which we can pray; and as the hymn says, there is power, wonder-working power in the name of Jesus. James knew and thus he shares that the prayer of faith would save the sick, and the Lord would restore them; and those who confessed their sins in prayer, would be forgiven. His call was to confess our sins and pray for one another, and we would be healed. Hear this line: "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." He cites the example of Elijah and his dealings with drought and rain. The passage closes with a call to help one another stay on the path of faith; praying for and welcoming those who might wander off, seeking to win back those who were lost, even to the point of covering up a "multitude of sins."
PRAYER: Loving God, set me on the path of faith with prayer and singing. Let me pray for those with whom I live and work. Help me pray for those with whom I play. Let me know the power of prayer in such a way I that can bless You and Yours. Help me not to wander away, but to help bring others back to You. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
