Sunday, September 30, 2012

Faith and Prayer (James 5:13-20)


Heinz Chapel
9.30.12
James 5:13-20
“Faith and Prayer”



“Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are 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. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore 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. Elijah 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. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you 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.”

“Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to
hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire
or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy
to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

I don’t pray enough.  I’ll admit it.  Passages like the one we read from the Epistle to James make me realize this all the more.  As I was preparing for the sermon this week, I began to wonder if I even believe in the power of prayer.  I began to wonder if the reason why I don’t make prayer a priority in my life is because I’m scared of being disappointed.  Afraid of getting my hopes up, only to have them dashed.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012