Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16
We can do everything possible to raise our children well. We can feed them, clothe them, take them to church consistently, and more. All of these things are important and vital, but amidst all of the things we do to take care of our kids, we must not forget one of the most important things we can do for our kids: pray for them. We have to take time to pray for our kids, giving them to God and bringing our cares and concerns for them to Him.
We learn in James 5 about the importance and power of prayer. In this chapter, James wrote, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” This is a call for each one of us to pray for our people, including our children. Scripture makes it clear that our prayers matter, but it also teaches us that God’s answers may look different than we may have expected, but they will always be for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).
This command to pray for each other from James 5 comes with a promise: our prayers are not in vain. Look at the very end of James 5:16: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” First, our prayers have an impact. God hears our prayers and responds to them according to His will. Not only this but there is also a second impact of our prayers: they change us as we pray. They align our will with God’s, and when we pray for others, they help us become less self-focused and cause us to think about others.
As we pray, remember to pray for the children in our lives consistently. As we pray for them and all of the other people in our lives, God will move. He will bring healing. Who can you be praying for today?
Take some time today to pray. If you can, pray specifically for the children in your life. Pray that God would protect and direct them. Be sure to communicate in your prayer how much you love them and how much you know God loves them too. One great way to help is to bring them to church. We have prayed for you to have great boldness in inviting others to be a part of Sagebrush!
James 5:13-20 (NLT)
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
