How to pray for your community

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The upper part of The Transfiguration (1520) b...
The upper part of The Transfiguration (1520) by Raphael, depicting Christ miraculously discoursing with Moses and Elijah. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:13–20

As a community of humble servants, what do we do when we suffer or when we’re cheerful? We turn to our Master. When we’re sick, we take our weaknesses together to the only one who can heal us. When we recognize our sins, we take them to the Lord too, together in humble reliance on Christ our Redeemer. There is no room for pride among us. None of us is better or more favored than the rest of us. We are brothers and sisters of Christ, equals bound in faith to our Father in heaven.
Questions
  • Do you consider yourself an equal with everyone in your community?
  • Do you consider your faith a gift from God or something you’ve earned yourself?
  • Are you someone to whom others can confess their sins without fear of gossip? Is your small group or community a safe place for revealing sins and weaknesses?
  • How would you say you have changed over the course of studying James?
Pray

Father, by your grace you have made us your people. In your mercy you have loved us. Allow us to know the strength of Christ’s love in us and be filled with the fullness of God. If we are filled with you, then we will have no pride or selfish ambition. Give us this life. Let us see in our daily lives the righteousness we have in Christ so that when we pray, we will see your great power. You are the one to whom we owe everything. Praise be to your name.

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