Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 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. – James 5:13-16
Dear Jesus,
You urge me to pray and promise to listen and answer. You urge me to ask for prayer from others and promise to listen and answer. You urge me to live an honest, humble life of confession. Why do I pray so little and with so little faith? You know my needs and have undoubtedly allowed them so I would learn to depend on you and not myself. I will enumerate my needs in prayer with a rusting heart that you will hold me up and bless me with deliverance. I have so many friends who need prayer too. Help them to rest in the arms of prayer as they unburden their souls to you in faith. Help us all to practice the catharsis of stress through prayer. Take our lives and our burdens and make them your story of rescue. You are our Savior from sin. Be our Savior from earthly strife and life.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Prayer is giving God the responsibility to fix what none of us can figure out.