James 5:13-14 (NIVUK)
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you ill? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
And why do we make prayer the first port of call, the core of our lives as Christians? Because it works. It works not because of our power, our goodness or the quality of our faith, it works because of God’s desire to make whole that which is broken, to bring his world peace and wholeness, and so when we pray out of faith, we are praying for things that he wants. This is not to say that God will always respond as or when we ask, there is mystery in prayer as God’s will is beyond our complete comprehension (this is not to say that our faith is at fault, rather that he is God and we are mere humans) and so our prayers will never be entirely in line with him, and sometimes God can see something better that is out of our view.
Bring your prayers to God today knowing that he is a God of mercy and healing who’s power, desire and will is focused on making his broken world right once more, and who is a God who loves to respond to his people’s prayers.
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