Scripture:
James 5:13 – Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.
Observation:
No matter what our situation is at any given point in time, we need to communicate with God. Paul tell us this in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything: instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.” There is power in prayer when we call out to Jesus to deliver us from whatever we are facing. Also, God is deserving of our praise for all the blessings he has placed in our lives.
Application:
Everyone is going to have times of trouble when we cry out to God and we all should have something to be joyful of and give God praise. These two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive and James is reminding us that we need to talk to God on a consistent basis to have a relationship with Him. We absolutely need to reach out to God when we are experiencing hardships, but that should not be the only time we pray nor should it be a last resort. Similarly, when things are going well and we feel like we are sitting on top of the world we must not think this is of our own doing. We have to give God the praise and glory for all the he has done in our life beginning with our salvation.
Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for sending Jesus so that we can have a relationship with you. Help me be someone who talks with you openly about everything and gives you the praise for all you have done.