SPIRITUAL
DIARY
Date: 11-17-03
My
Worship Time Focus: Prayer for the
Suffering (5:13)
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: James 5:13
1. Message of the verse: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.
Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.”
(NASB) “Are any among you
suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to
be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord.” (NLT)
We move into the
last chapter of “Be Mature,” and thus the last verses in the book of
James. Dr. Wiersbe entitles this chapter
“Let Us Pray.” As stated over many times
in these lessons on James, he uses the reference of the tongue or speaking in many
of the verses he has written. The tongue can be used for good things and for
things that are not pleasing to the Lord, so when we use the tongue to pray we
will be using it for something honoring to the Lord. “Seven times in this section James mentioned prayer. The mature
Christian is prayerful in the troubles of life. Instead of complaining about
his situation, he talks to God about it; and God hears and answers his prayers.
“Taking it to the Lord in prayer” is certainly a mark of spiritual maturity.
“In this section,
James encourages us to pray by describing four situations in which God answers
prayer.”
I. Pray for
the Suffering (5:13).
“Is any one of you in trouble?
He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” (NIV)
“Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing
psalms.” (AV)
What kinds of
troubles do you think that James is referring to in this verse? It seems that James is referring to the kinds
of troubles that come our way that are not caused by sin, things we think of
when we think of Job, or Paul, or even the Lord Jesus Christ.
What should we do and
not do when we find ourselves in these types of situations? We should go to the Throne and not to the
phone. I think that Paul gives good
advice to the Thessalonian believers that we can look at too concerning the
answer to this question. “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give
thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise
prophetic utterances. But examine
everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form
of evil.” James 1:5 gives good
advise too. “But
if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously
and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
Let’s look at some
verses that speak to us about prayer and some of the answers to those prayers
that were prayed.
2Corthians 12:7-10 is
the story of Paul after he was transported into heaven and how God answered his
prayer. (Read the passage). James 4:6 gives the same answer, “But he giveth more grace.”
How did God the Father answer Jesus’ prayer in the garden of
Gethsemane? God gave his the strength He
needed for what He sent Him to earth to accomplish, and Jesus accomplished it.
James has told us in
this verse (James 5:13), that those of us who are merry are to sing
psalms. There are many times when we go
through trouble that God will bring others into our lives to bring us joy when
we are troubled, and this shows us that not everyone is going through trouble
at the same time. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” This verse in Colossians shows us that we can
even sing when we are going through troubles, and now here are a couple of
examples: “And
at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners
heard them.” “When they had sung a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
Praying and singing
do go together and music has always been used in the worship of the Lord. The book of Psalms is a book that was sung
unto the Lord and music today is still an important part of our worship to the
Lord.
2. Spiritual meaning for my life today: As my walk closer
to the Lord and begin to know Him better then I would hope that when troubles
come that I would pray first about it because I will realize even more that God
is in control of everything and that He will not do anything or allow anything
to come into my life that is not for my good or for His glory.
The
Word of God was refreshing to my heart as I read it this morning, and it also
presented some challenges to me.
My Steps of Faith Today: Continue to pray that God will cause me to “press on,
that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of
me.”
Memory
verse for the week: Philippians 3:12b
I
press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of
by Christ Jesus.
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