Faithful in Prayer 1

James 5:16

This weekend in church we sang "Untitled Hymn" by Chris Rice. (play the video above or visit http://102grow.blogspot.com/ to view it!) One of the lines in that song that always strikes me is to remember when we walk, sometimes we fall.

Today's reading references this idea. The Greek word used for sins here means to stumble or fall down. So when we stumble in our walk, we are to confess that openly to our Christian brothers and sisters.

But there's a big AND in there as well that is sometimes forgotten by folks who like to condemn others. We are all to confess AND all to pray for one another. It's not only to pray for those we like or a few who are sick. We should always be in prayer for one another, lifting up, encouraging and helping one another. In this way, we will be healed.

Think about how you feel when you KNOW someone is there to catch you if you fall. How it feels to have someone you can depend on no matter what. Someone who "has your back" as they say. That's a wonderful feeling. It makes us stronger. It makes us want to take risks. That's how our Christian family should be. We should know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that people are praying for us and supporting us.

We should also KNOW one another's strengths and weaknesses. We need to know when our brothers and sisters stumble and fall down. Not so we can look down on them, but so that we can pick them up.

Prayer is powerful, folks. We see that over and over both in the Bible and our own lives. Prayer works miracles. Sometimes they are physical miracles like sensation returning to a numb limb. Sometimes they are emotional miracles that allow us to get through a year where we lose so many loved ones it's staggering.

But we lose sight sometimes of how powerful prayer can be and how important it is to pray for one another all the time. Let's be that kind of family in Christ. Let's pray for one another all week and see what happens.

DAILY CHALLENGE: PRAY for everyone in your church family today. Pray for anyone who sat in your pew this week at church. (and if you weren't there... pray for the folks who usually sit in your pew!) Pray personally for each one of them today, asking God to show you how you can help lift them up if they stumble.