James 5:16b. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.
Get with it friends; get with the programme this Friday morning, the programme of Christ Jesus! Yeh mih people, there is nothing better than the programme designed by Jesus for this earthly life! And if you follow it sincerely and diligently, you’ll find such unexpected excitement and adventure in this life to last more than one lifetime! Brother! Who doesn’t like excitement and adventure eh? And believe me, ah not talking from hearsay nuh, but from personal experience.
And if you don’t believe me, then read God’s Word, the Bible, the Good Book, the one they always trying to discredit and burn and throw out, but haven’t been able to since it was first written! That means it must have something grand in it to share to all and sundry, otherwise mankind would have been able to make it extinct, like so many other things and artifacts down through the ages. And the good thing about reading about Christ and believing in Him is that your ending will be even greater than your beginning. We talking about eternal life in heaven with Him! So how can you beat that eh friends? No way! No way Jose!
And in these times of serious problems, covid and all them other things that plaguing we world, it’s only Jesus Christ that can help us to overcome them. Satan and his evil doers can’t, because that’s what they want to see; evil and sickness in the land. But we got to look to Jesus and plead with Him to put a hand, a hand of mercy, ofLOVEAnd healing. We got to cry out to Him…JESUS…Oh Jesus…we need you badly down here on earth right now, for the enemy is making it real rough and tough for us! So please Jesus, please come back now and help us, help those who have surrendered their lives to You.
Yes friends, from way back, right now and for evermore, prayer is the answer! Remember what happened when Peter was locked up in prison. The Good Book tells us: ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’ (Acts 12:5) And we all know what happened in response to that prayer, the Lord sent His angel and released Peter from the prison. From right down in the innermost part of the prison, the angel of the Lord brought him out without any of the numerous guards and soldiers seeing him.
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘When they were past the first and second ward (guard posts), they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety (for certain), that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ (Acts 12:10-11) Yes my brethren, the Lord had put a hand in the situation in response to the prayer that was made by the church on Peter’s behalf.
And on the subject of prayer, James tells us that we need to express our dependence on God through it. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful)? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (with a nature like ours), and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by (for) the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (James 5:13-18)
Oh my people, the most powerful tool on this earth is sincere prayer, but it doesn’t mean that every prayer will be heard and positively acted upon, but the potential for that is certainly there. And Christians ought to be talking to each other, praying for each other, and depending on God’s mercy to get us going in this earthly and evil life. And the prayer of faith isn’t just a ritual like in verse 14 above. But as the scholars explain: ‘The prayer of faith discerns God’s will and perseveres until it is accomplished. God’s will, however, is not to heal in every case, and true faith can discern and accept that (Rom. 8:26-27).’
And since I like to spoon feed you all so much, (smile) I’ll quote those two verses. ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities (weaknesses): for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.’ (Rom. 8:26-27)
Yes, my fellow saints, when you accept Christ as Lord and Saviour and His Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you, one of the jobs the Spirit performs is to intercede for us, when we don’t how or what to pray for, presenting our innermost feelings and problems which we cannot put into words, to the omniscient God we serve and worship. And having said all of that, it’s only right and wise that we should turn to God to help us, plead with Him sincerely to put a healing hand in our affairs, which are currently in a very sad state.
So let’s do that right now through our Friday Chant nuh. As one prayerful voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. Yuh know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife causing. We not accustomed to that kind of life Lord, and it really telling on us. And we know we can’t handle it on our own, that we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now my fellow believers, let’s get to sincere repentance and obedience and show our trusting faith, if we truly want the Lord to help us and heal our land. Much LOVE!
…prayer…the wonderful method of communication…between man and God…
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