James 5:13-20 (NRSV)
Read James 5:13-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Verse 14Are 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. Verse 15The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Verse 16Therefore 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. Verse 17Elijah 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. Verse 18Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. Verse 19My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, Verse 20you 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.
Devotion
“Hello,” said Kay as she answered her telephone. “Hello, Kay. My brother is sick. Will you start the prayer chain for him?” I asked. “I certainly will,” she responded, and I gave her a few more details. I felt some reassurance after leaving the request with her, knowing that others would be praying for Wynn, too. And so the story is repeated hundreds of times over every day as people pass on prayer requests via the phone, e-mail, or in person, and as congregations lift up their petitions for others in the prayers of the church. The Christian community is a praying community: we pray for those who suffer, for those who celebrate, for the sick, for any and all needs for people, both known and unknown. What a privilege! What a responsibility! What a gift!
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for the fellowship of believers who pray with and for each other. Thank you for listening and for answering, in Your way and in Your time; through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.