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April 17 Daily Devotional

Are You For Real? (James 5:13–18)

the Rev. Larry Wilson

Scripture for Day 107—James 5:13–18

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. 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 pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer 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 pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, 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 heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

Devotional:

In other words, God says that a church that is patiently looking for the coming of the Lord will be a praying church.

Prayer is not a mere religious duty. As O. Hallesby helpfully observed, the essence of prayer is opening your life to the risen Christ. When you draw near to the Lord, he actually does draw near to you. Isn't that what the church most needs in our day—the presence and power of the exalted Lord? Isn't that what you most need?

Pray in times of trouble. "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray" (v. 13a). Generally, trouble tempts you to turn away from God. Especially if it goes on and on. Something inside you wants to find a quicker fix. But God says, No. "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray."

Pray in times of happiness. "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise" (v. 13b). If trouble tempts some to forget God, it drives others to him. But when the sailing gets smooth, it becomes even easier to forget him. Remember that every circumstance is a test. "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise."

Pray in times of sickness. "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" (v. 14). God doesn't identify any particular disease. The word translated "sick" is a general word, meaning to be weak or sick. Weakness tempts you to feel hopeless, as if there's nothing you can do. The biblical outlook is just the opposite! You can do the most significant thing of all—pray! Weakness is the very time for prayer. As O. Hallesby says "Your helplessness is your best prayer."

In other words, pray in all circumstances. As R.V.G. Tasker puts it, "The habit of prayer should be, and indeed is, one of the most obvious features which differentiates a Christian from other people."


Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.

 

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