James 5:13-18 The Power of Prayer

James 5:13-18 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray1. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray2 over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer3 of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray4 for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer5 of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed6 fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed7 again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” Corrie Ten Boom “Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.” Corrie Ten Boom If you only pray when you’re in trouble…you’re in trouble. When life is too hard to stand, kneel. “The saint who advances on his knees never retreats.” Jim Elliot Prayer may not remove trials but prayer can transform them. Prayer should not demand that God accomplishes my will but that I bend my will to accomplish His. Prayer doesn’t change God. Prayer changes me. Prayer (13-18) follows patience (7-11) because patient prayer will minister to our souls.