Prayer Bridges the Gap

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“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray…Call the elders to pray…pray for each other…the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective…pray earnestly.” (James 5:13-17)

James, perhaps impatient with Christian faith that remains theoretical, crams his short letter with down-to-earth advice for living a robust, meaningful Christian life. Many love this practical letter; others are offended by James’ accusatory tone. Can we love James’ practicality but be upbraided by his bluntness at the same time? Sure, but the key is bridging that gap with prayer. And, fittingly, James ends his letter with his focus squarely on prayer.

Let’s rehearse everything James has explained to us: trials will come, suffer patiently through them, listen to the Word and do what it says, tame that tongue, forsake favoritism, show your faith by what you do, submit to and depend wholly upon God. Despite all the practical advice James gives us in each of these areas, though, none of it will be easy. And certainly none can be accomplished in our own strength. So, James now counsels ubiquitous prayer: if we’re in trouble, pray (when grumbling and complaining are our default); if we’re happy, praise; if we’re sick, have others pray for us; if we’ve sinned, ask fellow Christians to pray healing for us (5:13-16). 

Here is James’ bridge from an “I know I ought to…” theoretical mindset to an “I will” practical determination: Pray in all circumstances (5:13-17), and pray “earnestly” (5:17). 

Just as it’s not going to be easy to always tame the tongue, to follow consistently the commands of Scripture, to endure patiently the trials that come, it’s also not our natural default to pray first. We would rather speak our mind, read the Word and think about it rather than do it, and complain to anyone who will listen about how unfairly we’re being treated. So, how can we adopt a PRAY FIRST attitude? 

I wish I had a magic wand for that; I’d wave it over every one of you. (Well, after I waved it over myself.) We all have first-hand experience with answers to prayer, with the blessed feeling of hearing God speak through His word or into our prayer moments, with praying and feeling immediate peace. Yet, still, prayer is not our immediate go-to as often as it needs to be. As Pavlov’s dog salivated when he learned a bell meant food, we need to be so conditioned to the power of prayer that as soon as a trial comes or as soon as we think of that perfect comeback, we arrest our natural, fleshly inclination and move toward prayer. 

Constant, earnest prayer is the bridge to integrating theoretical faith into a robust, practical Christianity. All of James’ advice sounds great, but it’s prayer (not our own determination) that taps into God’s power to move us beyond offense at James’ accusations toward the practical correction of those flaws. Where are you on that bridge? Starting to cross? Well on your way over it? 

1 Comment

Great post! You remind me of the grace that prayer brings. Pavlov's dog reminded me of Psalm 42:1-2:
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?

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