Overview of: JamesToday's Reading:
James 5:1-20
"Power, Patience, and Prayer"
Focus Verses: James 5:16-18
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. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
Insight:
Just as human beings are agents of change interacting with the world, so is God. God is ready, willing, and able to act within the world. He hears our prayers, considers them, and answers them. The Scriptures are filled with examples of God's active response to everyday people who called out to him for help. God is not impersonal, distant, or uninvolved with his creation. He is working to save, lead, guide, help, and provide.
Response and Action:
I will pray because I believe God is present, powerful, persuadable, and personal. I believe that God is engaged and interested in his creation. I will call out to God and ask him for help, guidance, relief, strength, deliverance, and provision. I will make prayer a priority in my life. I will cultivate a regular and thoughtful routine for daily prayer.
O God, thank you for hearing our prayers. Thank you for your grace and provision in our lives. We call out to you, Holy Father, believing that yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Old Testament for Today: Psalm 5:1-3
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
In Context: Psalm 5
Proverb for Today: Prov. 7:1
"My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you."
Recommended Reading:
The Prayer God Longs For
by James Emery White
