Take a look at verse James 5:13-16 "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him 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 him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
There are several things to take notice of in these verses. First is the power and prominence of prayer. Prayer, communicating to God should be our natural and first response to every situation that life throws at us. This could be prayer of praise and worship or of intercession.
Second, when we pray as people in right standing with God, those prayers are unstoppable and powerful bringing change to everything prayed for. Do we really believe this? If we do it should be seen in our expectation and anticipation.
Now there is one very important aspect of prayer that is emphasized here that we need to take note of and practice. This kind of prayer is done in community. Yes, we can and should have our private times of prayer. However, we also need regular prayer with and for others Christians in our church. This is prayer with those who know our weaknesses and failures and will stick by our side, praying for us. Do we have this kind of prayer? Do we live in this kind of church? Are we open and honest enough with those God has placed in our lives to receive this kind of prayer? If we can answer yes then we should be seeing the power of God on a regular basis.
