Wednesday Words of Encouragement

James 5:13-16 ~

"Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."

Why is it so difficult for us to pray both individually and corporately? When I read these verses and see the power there is in prayer, it makes me wonder why prayer seems to be something we struggle to do.

I know that many would say they do pray. However, often our prayers are little popcorn prayers we throw up to God. "Help my child pass this test." "Help me at work today." "Please heal Sue." "Give me strength." We very rarely stop and spend quality time sitting down and devoting a chunk of time to prayer.

Yet, it is something we are called to do as believers. We are told in verse 16 that our prayer can accomplish much. However, look at that adjective "effective". What is an effective prayer?

I do believe it has to do with the intensity and quality of our prayers. Shooting up little prayers here and there definitely has a place, but I do believe that we need to set aside time and concentrate on our prayers.

Many of us will say that we live busy lives and have no time. Yet we have time for the things we think are important - computer, television, exercise, talking on the phone with friends, going to the movies, going shopping.

I'm as guilty of this as anyone else. I've been so convicted lately about setting aside time each day to pray and hear from God. How can we hear from Him when we can't stop our constant motion?

I encourage you today to stop, listen, pray and hear what God is saying to you today!