LIFE: Prayer…open upPosted by Phil on April 6th, 2009
real faith consumes you. and james finishes his book on faith w/ prayer. are you in trouble? happy? sick?….then you should pray and get people to pray for you.
growing up in church, it’s expected that you ask people to pray for you. you weren’t a good Christian if you didn’t do that. and you were a horrible person if you didn’t respond to someone’s need w/, “i’ll pray for you.”
but rarely have i asked anyone to pray with me…to pray over me…to stop what we’re doing lay hands on me and pray for me. like prayer is something we do in private and not a tool to encourage someone right then.
james says to get the elders of the church to pray over you. but really…find someone you trust spiritually to pray for and with you. he says the prayer offered in faith will begin allow for healing to begin. but notice what he doesn’t say:
he doesn’t say it is the faith of the person in need.
he doesn’t say if it’s physical or spiritual healing.
Jesus was all about people. he spent time healing the phycial needs of people, but at times, he walked away from those needs…because spiritual healing was much more important.
David wrote many Psalms and many of them had phrases like, “how long will you ignore me?” or “when will you remember I’m here suffering?” there were times that David didn’t feel like loving God…didn’t feel like praying….didn’t have the faith to bring healing. and it’s those times when we need people who will pray for us. sometimes we need to remember, that God’s healing might be helping us see that He is still good even in tough times…see that God is still working and He’s not done yet.
James goes on and says to confess to each other and pray for each other. confess to each other? what does that have to do w/ prayer? and do i really have to?
i have great accountability partners who make time for me when i need it. and recently, my confession to them has been sharing my weakness. “i just don’t have the faith to handle this on my own. where do i go from here?” and it’s those times that bring healing. the freedom of confession that opens up space inside to bring healing. that takes a weight off my shoulder saying i don’t have to go it alone.
the book of lamentations is from the hebrew word ekah’, which means “how”. it’s the first word of the book, but a statement word that asks a lot of questions. how did this happen? how do i move from here? how are you going to show me you’re still in control? the confession of disbelief and request and prayer for faith when you just don’t have it on your own.
faith, if nothing else is real…it can’t be faked or sugar-coated. and prayer is no different. do you need people to pray with you? should you be stopping others to pray for them?
the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. it may not be eloquent, it may just be tears offered in silence on someone’s behalf. but prayer is honest….our conversation with God that admits when we don’t have answers, when we don’t have what it takes, when we need healing.