Open Up With Your Needs
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(13) Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. (14) Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. (16) Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.’ (James 5:13-16)
James 5:13-20 discusses praying in Faith. Namely, if prayers are earnest they will be answered by God when the Faithful pray for needs and praise blessings that they are provided. Why is it important to pray? It is the ‘hotline’ to communicate with Jesus; it can be a ‘911’ call for an ’emergency’ need or it can be a ‘411’ request for information. It can be any request or comment one may have with Jesus or for Jesus. While one’s prayer is always heard by Jesus, prayers in Fellowship shows that honest openness the Lord loves to see from us, to share our burdens with others who in turn pray for the needs of the one asking.
It is one thing to pray for those in need; I pray for others who are in troubling circumstances but if they do not take the effort to pray (or if they have not been given the knowledge that they should pray), why should God provide for them if they cannot take up their own needs for prayer? This does not mean quit praying for a lost person or someone in denial about their own situation, but it would be better if they also took up their own petition of prayer to the Lord. (Regardless, pray for them, even if they aren’t praying themselves!)
If it is good for one to pray, it is better – per James 5:14 and 16 – for others to pray on behalf of the one needing prayer. We saw firsthand the results that God delivered in response of prayer (with an open, public call to the Elders) for a serious health issue; the sharing of the prayer need allowed us the corporate blessing of lifting that need up to the Lord in one corporate voice. If the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective, how much more powerful a prayer is when hundreds of righteous people petition Jesus for that particular need at the same time?
When possible, share your needs with others, with as much detail so people can focus their prayers to that particular need. If it is very personal or could be considered embarrassing, you can leave the details to a minimum or even request prayer for ‘personal needs’; God knows what you need and not everyone needs to know the ‘gory details’ of problems that could cause shame or embarrassment. Corporate prayer through the sharing of needs through Fellowship hits two the three things one can do to draw a closer relationship with Jesus; read the Bible, pray to the Lord, and be in fellowship with other Christians. It is not only a blessing for the individual in need, but a blessing for the fellowship to see firsthand the power of prayer in addressing the needs of others. Prayer is powerful!
