Pray In Every Season | Daily Devotional 1629

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast episode 1629. Today's Devo is called Pray in Every Season.

Hey there, we're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy, the to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why every weekday we share a five-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast.

Well, good morning again, day four. It is an honor to be with you. I am Mary Alessie, the mother to all the other wonderful ladies that are on this podcast with you every morning. And I am excited to talk to you today about James 5. And we're going to cover five verses, 13 through 18. Let's read them. It says, Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? 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. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he's committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man or woman, availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Well, today's passage gives us a response for every season of our lives. Are you ready? Pray. Don't cease praying. James asks these questions in this verse. Are you suffering? Pray. Are you happy? Sing praise. Are you sick? Call for the leaders and the elders of the church to what? Pray for you. Whether life is painful or whether it's joyful, you're going through a difficult season, you're on the mountain or you're in the valley. James teaches us that we've got to turn towards God, not away from Him. And our prayer is what connects us to God. It's the language of heaven. See, sometimes we treat our prayer like it's the last resort, it's the 911 call. Rather than using prayer as a means to sustain us, so we pray even in the good times, because those prayers we know are sustaining us when maybe suffering comes or difficult situations come. So if we treat our prayers like last resort, then we try everything else that we know to do, and then we exhaust every option and say, well, I guess all I can do now is pray. But prayer is not all we can do after everything else has failed. Prayer is the first and most powerful response available to you and I as believers. And James specifically tells the sick person to call for the elders of the church and tell them, pray for me, lay hands on me and pray for me. See, there are moments when your private prayer is appropriate, but there will be other times where you've got to call people around you and say, would you pray? Because I need your faith. I need your support. I need a spiritual community to pray for me. And asking for prayer is not weakness, guys. It's an act of faith and humility. The oil represents being set apart to God. And throughout scripture, it's associated with the work of the Holy Spirit. So don't be afraid to ask somebody to anoint you with oil and pray over you. That's not a Pentecostal custom. That's Bible. James is saying to them, call the elders, anoint your head with oil and pray for you. Why? Because that's a symbol of faith. We know that the power is not in the formula or the oil. The healing comes from the Lord, not from the hands that are laid on you. But we pray boldly and we anoint in his name, but we trust him with the outcome. James also connects prayer and confession and healing all together. So it's the words of your mouth that you speak when you pray. That does not mean that every sickness is caused like by a sin or something that you're doing wrong. Jesus rejected that assumption, but it does mean that God wants to bring wholeness to our entire lives, spirit, soul, and body. He wants to bring wholeness to our relationships. He wants our spirit to be whole. And sometimes when you stay in isolation, it's hard to be honest, to confess where you are. And here's what we know as a mature believer: what that gives you is an open door to prayer, accountability, and restoration. That's why he says to us in this passage, Are you suffering? Pray. Are you sick? Call the church people. He gives us a roadmap because he knows that when we get sick or when we're around sickness, there's a tendency for us to shut the door and move away from God rather than to God. So James gives us Elijah as an example at that last verse. See, Elijah, although a man of God experienced human emotions and pressures just like you and me, he went through difficulty. Yet his prayers affected a nation's weather, the rain. He prayed, no rain. He prayed, rain. The point is that ordinary people can pray to an extraordinary God. And what you prayed for today, although you might not see it today, don't stop praying because that season can change. And God hears your prayers and will answer, answer them. So, how do you apply this today? Well, let me ask you this question. What season are you in? Are you suffering? Are you sick? Are you going through a difficult situation? Tell God honestly, be honest about it all. If you're joyful, turn your joy into worship instead of just moving on to the next concern. And take a minute today to say, Lord, I'm just going to say thank you and worship you because I'm in a good season right now. But if you're sick, call the elders of the church. Call people around you and ask them, people that you trust, pray for me. If you're carrying a hidden struggle all by yourself, find a safe, spiritual, mature believer to help walk you through. Bring it into the light. You don't have to carry it alone. Let's pray. Father, teach us to turn everything to you in every season. When we suffer, we will pray. When we struggle, we will pray. When we're joyful, we will pray. When we need help, cause us to have humility in our hearts to turn to others for the answer. Bring healing to our bodies, bring healing to our hearts, to our relationship, and to our spirits. You are faithful, and we give you all the honor and all the glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Here's a declaration for you today. Prayer is my first response, not my last resort. God hears me, God is able, and I will keep praying. Keep praying today. God bless you.

So there you have it, your five minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.