I would like us as a church to consider setting aside an hour on Wednesday evenings -7:30-8:30pm for prayer and reflection on God’s Word each week. If this is not possible in your schedule maybe another time in the day would work for you. We are facing a new era of worship and witness that will present challenges as we cannot be together in the same physical space. All our services and meetings in public for the time being will need to cease. I will say more about that on Friday.
This blessing is something we will miss for a time as we value our fellowship together. However, obstacles are also opportunities for the church of Jesus Christ. We will be forced by this situation to be more creative in our communications which may in time enable us to reach many more people with the message of God’s amazing love for them. Obstacles and opportunities – let us pray about both as we reflect on where we are at the present time.
Each week I will offer a few short points on a Bible passage before mentioning some points for prayer. I want to highlight in this our first virtual midweek meeting – the power of prayer.
James 5:13-18 states: Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
What do we see in this passage?
1.An important truth The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Notice (a) The earnest prayer It matters! It is not merely repeating familiar words but a cry to God from our hearts. That what we are doing really matters; remember Jacob’s cry to the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) in Genesis 32:26: I will not let you go unless you bless me. We want by faith an encounter with the living God.
(b) The earnest prayer There are a number of different words in the Bible translated into English as prayer. There is a general word for praying but also other more specific terms. Here the Greek word means ‘specific requests’. It is focussed prayer. It is fine to ask God to bless the world. But here the point refers to prayers that have a much narrower focus. We need ‘x’, whatever that is, for example someone with no food or money to pay for it, pleading for someone to provide for them. Yesterday a vulnerable older person told me how encouraged they were on a day recently when a person unknown took a food parcel and left it on their doorstep. The person has food in the house, but someone known only to God felt prompted to give that gift.
2. The integrity of the one asking the prayer of a righteous person
(a)How do I become ‘righteous’? After all the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:11 that because of our sinful thoughts, words and actions, There is no-one righteous no not one. It becomes a bigger issue when we read in Psalm 66:18: If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. However, I John 1:9 greatly encourages us with these words: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
It is true when we start to follow Jesus when we admit to God we are sinners in need of forgiveness and by faith believe that Jesus died in our place on the cross, and are welcomed in to God’s family when we do that. But, Christians are imperfect people who need to come to God regularly and ask once more for His forgiveness for our sins. So when we come to God with our requests first remember God is a holy God and ask Him first to purify our hearts before we bring our requests to Him. This should be as natural as washing our hands before we prepare food for dinner.
(b) The importance of right living God notices! In I John 3:7 John writes: The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. We seek to display right attitudes; we seek to speak to others graciously; we seek to act with integrity in our choices –because our heavenly Father takes delight in seeing His children living the right way.
3. The impact of our prayers The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
(a)An illustration of what can happen In James 5:17-18 there is the incredible example of the effectiveness of the prayers of the prophet Elijah. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. 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. The key words here which we can easily miss are: even as we are… It could be you or me –ordinary people who pray and see God answer!
(b) What if I don’t know how to pray or what to pray? When we don’t know what to pray, or are so overwhelmed with the troubles we are going through or so weak with ill health we are unable to use words something amazing happens. The Holy Spirit prays on our behalf bring our concerns to our Father in heaven. Paul explains it this way in Romans 8:26: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Personal Reflection:
What encourages me in this passage?
What challenges me to action in this passage?
General Prayer Points
1.Pray for the Governments in Edinburgh and Westminster seeking to lead us through this health crisis.
2. Pray for the health-workers in our country seeking to provide medical care for those in need, especially those under greatest pressure as the number of cases increases.
Claire our Children and Families worker has helpfully suggested some other prayer points for us in our prayer times:
Please pray for all of the families known to us from our different groups. Some are already self-isolating with possible symptoms and this will likely be a stressful time, with everyone stuck at home for 2 weeks. Pray for health, strength and peace amongst the chaos. Pray for families as they navigate through the challenges and implications brought about by social distancing and the need to protect grandparents etc.
Pray for those who are anxious about family members with underlying health conditions.
Pray for those who struggle with mental health issues as life could feel more difficult during these times of isolation and restricted movements.
Pray for those who have limited finances and are therefore being adversely affected by the panic bulk buying.
Pray for our church families and those who already follow Jesus in their lives, that despite the likely disruption to being able to meet together on a Sunday, we would all still grow in our faith during these challenging times.
Pray for me to find the best ways to offer support or help to families during this time and to know how I can best offer support to our church family in general.
You could finish your prayer time with our church Bible verse for the year 2020 from Ephesians 3:20-21:
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
