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Hear the devotional read here: https://bit.ly/3hQC554
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 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. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. 19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 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 NRSV)
Happy Tuesday, dear friends. May God's joyous blessings come your way, dear Friend, and may you in turn, share them with all who is in need! I ask for prayers for the family of Mrs. Eva Boscamp, who died yesterday, Monday, 9/20/2021. Eva was an incredible woman of faith, grace, and love. She took Nellie and I under her loving wings of prayer and concern when she met us, and loved to read and comment on my devotionals. She and I spoke often during this pandemic by phone and I will miss her smiling face in worship and her presence in my life. May God's comfort be with all who loved her. Prayers for all who have asked them from us; pray for one another and for your needs as well.
Who taught you how to pray? Was there a person who took time to model a way to pray? I learned from my grandmother Petra, the mother of my Dad. She took time to explain prayer, but I saw it modeled by both of my parents as well. I learned the hard way that not all prayers are answered either by our time or will. I had a beautiful Collie that looked just like Lassie, the famous TV dog of the show by the same name. Her only fault was thinking she could run after and catch all vehicles that drove down our caliche street. One day she lost to a Coca-Cola truck, and lay dying on the dusty street. My "Momo" helped pick up her body and took me to pray. My prayers were not answered as I wanted, but I learned that never deterred her from being a woman of prayer. Her love and lessons blessed me and prayer became a necessary part of life for me. I knew that prayer was that super extra that traveled with me all my life. It was also the extra that I asked of her and my mother, especially when I left home for college.
For the apostle James to write these few, simple, but powerful words, bless me. James also knew the extra that prayer brings to those who pray, especially when suffering. And notice how side by side, the extra is listed. "Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? The should sing songs of praise." Singing, as some music people have taught me, is a way of praying twice. James continued, "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." This short lesson shows us there is much involved in praying. It is a matter of using words in conversation with God, which is the foundation, but we can also use singing. Singing in and of itself is a lifting action; if sung with thanksgiving, it lifts our spirits for we are reaching beyond ourselves heavenward to thank God, and thus touching God. And if we are down, with sickness or illness, we can and should involve others. The lesson says to bring the "elders" of the church to come and pray with us. Elders in the ancient understanding were church leaders, strong in faith and those willing to move beyond their comfort zone to touch and anoint with oil with prayers for, notice this, for the salvation of the sick, and trusting that God will be the person who would heal and lift up the sick, AND, anything sinful in the sick would be removed and forgiven. That's what I would call a complete package of righteousness. James' dissertation on prayer continues with the need to confess our sins to one another, and we should pray for each other, and that will bring healing. Notice also that "the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." James shares the example of the prophet Elijah, who through prayer, controlled the weather through God; and says that nothing blesses us more than to use prayer "to bring back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."
Our prayers should include our petition to God to make us righteous. It should include our desire to be truly God's servants who seek those for whom to pray. A truly righteous person never ceases to pray, always trusting God to make well and lift up those who are in need. And our desire is to help others find Christ and His salvation through our prayers. Our mission is not complete until we do our best to help others find their own salvation. Our mission is all about life and the fullness/abundance that Christ brings to us and those who ask.
PRAYER: Loving God, grant to us righteousness and faith. Increase our love for You and for others. May we seek to be people of prayer that we were called to be! May we glorify You and may we be quick to listen after we pray; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a person of prayer today!
Receive my blessings of love and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
