James Chapter 5 (ESV)

 

The Prayer of Faith

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, ²⁰ let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

 

Reflection

1. Recall a time when you came very close to wandering from the faith (v19)? Who helped bring you back? Spend some time revisit that experience and all your emotions then and now. We are all broken people—physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc—and we need each other in the community of faith to pray that we might be healed.
2. Is God putting someone in your heart that is in the “wandering from the faith” situation as you were? How would you help him/her come back to the faith?
3. Pray for the people in the church and in your cell groups. Ask God to give you a spirit of harmony, acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, and love so that you would care for one other and witness God’s power.

 

Prayer & Journaling:

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.