Thoughts for the Day

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...pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

This is a good picture of how the early Christian Church lived and worked. James lists some of the things they should do in his letter, and we can learn a lot from his words. When we are sick he says we should pray for ourselves, however, I know from experience that when we are in severe pain it's difficult to pray as the pain is all we can think about. At times like this it needs others to pray for us.

All of us need to start a prayer list for the sick, if we haven't done so. We can all spend a few minutes each day in prayer, using something as simple as this:

"Father, I praise You for Your glory,
and ask you to forgive my sin this day...... (mention any).
Please send Your healing power upon...... (mention names).
I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.
Amen."

Make sure to keep these prayers up-to-date. Sometimes names stay on the list for months, but keep praying. And if you miss one day, start again the next day.

Oh, and don't forget the second instruction - sing praises if you're happy - even if this is: "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" Or "If you're happy and you know it, Praise the Lord!" to the same tune.

Heavenly Father,
we ask Your help this day,
to keep us praying regularly:
to praise You;
to ask for forgiveness of our sins;
and to pray for those who need our prayers.
We ask this through our Saviour,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.