Day 19 - Pray for Our Mission in a Mile Ministries

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16

Do your prayers work? Does God answer them? Is there any power in your praying? These are questions we sometimes ask in our prayers. Does it really matter that I have prayed about this circumstance? Did anything change because of my prayers? Do the people for whom I prayed really experience any effect? Or would everything that happens have just happened anyway?

In answer to these questions, the book of James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” The verse is also sometimes translated as, “The effective prayer of a righteous person has great power.” Not only, says James, are your prayers effective, but they have great power. Prayer accomplishes much, says James. Because of this, we should believe this promise and pray as if it is true.

James uses the example of Elijah in the Bible. He notes that Elijah, who was a person with a sinful nature like ours, prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three years and six months. Then James reminds his hearers that Elijah prayed again, and the heavens were opened up. Elijah might not seem a realistic example to us. Though he had a nature like ours, as James notes, he was also one of the great prophets in the Old Testament. Are our prayers really as effective as Elijah’s?

The words of James are meant as an encouragement to faithful, confident prayer. It is possible to pray weakly and without confidence. Perhaps too many of our prayers are this way. We do not really know if God will answer or not. But the Bible encourages us to pray confidently. God wants us to pray with faith, knowing that he is listening. James indicates that our prayers have great power. Let us live righteously, so no prevailing sins hinder our prayers, and let us pray confidently. Know that God is listening and that your prayers are important to him.

Today pray for our Mission in a Mile ministries:

• Pray that the children at Betty Henderson Holston Elementary will be safe, happy, and ready to learn.

• Pray that the youth at Clarke Middle School will be encouraged in their education.

• Pray that children at St Mary’s Hospital will get well quickly.

• Pray for retirees at Lanier Gardens and Talmadge Terrace.

• Pray for the neighborhoods around our congregation.

• Pray for teachers and administrators at nearby schools.

• Pray for all the Athens ministries that do good in the community.