To pray is to change. Prayer invokes the name of God, makes intersession through Jesus, and opens our hearts to conversation through the Holy Spirit.
In the Gospel of James, the 5th Chapter we find a simple, yet life changing verse:
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)
First, this verse invites confession, the first step on a journey toward reconciliation. Second, James identifies how we start a new relationship – we pray for one another.
The importance of this verse lies in the call for persistent prayer. There is no one and done that is so prevalent today. Whether you set aside a time for prayer or connect with God in any manner, we are emulating Jesus.
Jesus prayed in familiar and unfamiliar places – so do we. The Holy Spirit nudges us and we stop, look, and listen. Even a glance at a person or situation that catches your attention for a moment is prayer.
Martin Luther attributes the involuntary action of taking and releasing a breath as prayer.
In the second sentence of this verse, we are informed that prayer is powerful and perpetually effective. This gives new understanding to the possibilities of prayer. Jesus implores us to pray together, pray for others, and pray for healing.
The power of prayer is greater then any earthly power or principality; or darkness itself. We are called to pray for our enemies, not just the ones who harass and persecute us, but those who are used by Satan to express hatred toward Christ. Prayer power confronts, indicts, and defeats all our enemies as our only defense.
In addition, prayer has practical value and momentum. In our conversations with God and one another, we can tackle problems and situations that overwhelm our lives and threaten relationships. We become restless, anxious, and impatient. Prayer allows us to step back, seek pardon and advice from God, before we re-engage. Prayer provides the momentum we need to persevere in order to effect change in the most troubling and perplexing situations.
As I began, to pray is to change. The innate power of prayer by the righteous gives both urgency and direction to the Holy Spirit. Prayer reveals our hearts to God and others. Prayer gives focus to situations and problems that Jesus is already tending to. James in this single verse, says that prayer involves us.
The gift of righteousness is to bear responsibility for others – that is why we are given the ministry of reconciliation. Praying unleashes the hidden power of God, in all His grace and glory, through His people. God and us can effect real change in your life and those around you.
Within the multitude of possibilities – times and places – to pray; Jesus invites us to just pray (using our own or those we choose from others) . Pray genuinely, but pray.
In my journey, this prayer has been insightful and gives me reason to act on behalf of others. From St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Many are still celebrating the life and ministry of Pope Francis. He said: “Hope never disappoints.” His prayer of hope during the Jubilee:
Father in heaven,
May the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.
Amen
gracexchange 