Daily Reading for Sunday, Jan. 20: Prayer

“Is anyone among you afflicted (ill-treated, suffering evil)? He should pray. Is anyone glad at heart? He should sing praise [to God]. Is anyone among you sick? He should call in the church elders (the spiritual guides). And they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord's name. And the prayer [that is] of faith will save him who is sick, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have [with feelings, affections, and a constitution like ours]; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months. And [then] he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops.”

James 5:13-18 The Amplified Bible

What beautiful promises are spoken in these passages! When we are afflicted, or when we are in great joy, we have an entry way to the eternal one so that He may comfort us in our troubles and rejoice with us in our elations. And this is accomplished through the medium of prayer, through the timeless artwork of conversation with the Almighty, infinite God who cares intimately about his creation and longs to hear from us and speak to us. We know that when we pray, we will see great things happen in our lives and in the lives of others, for this is what the Word and the presence of the Lord promises us. Therefore Saints, let us pray. And let us place great value on the time spent in prayer. For if we do, we shall see many great things occur in and through us—as individuals and as a church.