“The Power of Prayer”

BIBLE READING:  James 5                  

                Have you ever known that person who is struggling with some type of issue?  They may have some serious medical condition or maybe they have lost a loved one or maybe they are just placed in a situation in which they have no control over;  Then when you go to visit them to offer some type of encouragement you might ask, “Is there anything we can do to help?”.  Their reply, “All we can do now is pray.”  There is some truth to that statement.  When things are out of our hands, we are left with petitioning the Almighty to ask for His comfort, His guidance and maybe even His intervention.  However, many times when we do say that, it also seems to imply a couple of other things.  For instance, it implies that we have tried and exhausted every other means physically possible on our end, so now let’s take it to God.  It might also mean that the situation is so dire, there is no hope and all that is left is to pray; as if it really isn’t going to do anything…it is more of a formality that we need to do.  Prayer should never be a last resort for us, nor should we ever doubt the power that is associated with prayer.  James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working”.   Prayer has power, because it is connected to the Creator of the Universe.  It also has power because of the intimacy it carries with it because God is specifically concerned with us.  Above all, prayer should be something we do first and foremost.  Prayer isn’t the last thing we can do, it is everything that we can do.