James 5:13-20 NRSV
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Father in heaven,
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Teach us to pray, O Lord!
Give us a cheerful spirit so that our thoughts and emotions erupt in joyful songs of praise to you, so that we both know and share the great peace of God.
Give us people to lead us, O Father, in whom is righteous and godly character, and through whose prayers you do great works and even miracles.
Spirit of God, give us godly and caring men and women, brothers and sisters to whom we can turn in our times of failure and conviction, faithful believers to whom we can confess our faults and whose prayers for us will cause our souls to find healing.
Fill your church, O Christ, with loving and caring men and women who will seek out the person who is lost and wandering, as agents of your redeeming grace in this dark and fallen world.
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Teach us to pray, O Lord!
Amen.
Lord, Speak to Me
https://youtu.be/jvYSoGP7pwM?si=JRiR4YjzTZzskhQp
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
