James 5:14-15 - Praying From Faith

Step 1: Pray. Select.

Hello Friends! Thank you for joining me in selecting a scripture today.

As I began my prayer time, the Holy Spirit brought to mind a sentence from well-known marriage vows: “I promise to love you through sickness and in health.”

As I search the Bible, to my surprise, those various words do not exist in scripture. However, numerous scriptures support this principle. As I read through these references, I came across James 5:14-15, which resonated with me today.

Let’s begin our journey there today, friends.

Step 2: Write. Read. Circle

After reading the scripture three times, the following words stood out amongst the others:

James 5:14-15 - Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Step 3: Re-Write

With a focus on the words I circled that stood out, here is the personalized sentence that came alive in my heart.

• Jennifer, anyone among you sick, let them pray the prayer of faith, and the LORD will raise him.

If you are doing this alongside me today, add your name in front of your unique sentence so the Lord can speak directly to you.

Step 4: Visualize

As I meditate on the words given to ponder today, I realize that while there is great power in prayer, it is through our faith in what the Lord can do above all things that we can activate healing.

I sat for a bit and thought about what the prayer of faith consists of. What does it look like? There is no direct roadmap in the Bible. However, it is very clear that when we pray in faith, trusting that the Lord’s will be done, and we believe in His promises for a life more abundant, whatever the outcome, it is what is best for us and in line with His eternal plans. The problem is surrendering to the unknown in the immediate.

What I do know is that by taking in these words, I realize just how important it is to gather and pray over anyone in need, whether it is spiritually, physically, or mentally, and ask the Lord to intercede, taking action to raise them out of their pit of despair.

We must trust the LORD hears our cry, even though the outcome may or may not align with our desires. We can trust that He will always work all things together for our good, for those that love Him (Romans 8:28), and that He has great plans for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

As I continue to write this, I envision a scroll with golden writing inside. There is a field, and a large basket filled with scrolls. I understand that in my vision, the scrolls represent prayer requests.

There is a massive flock of doves that dive down from the sky and pick up each of the scrolls one by one, with the prayers for the sick and the hurting. As they fly back with the prayer request in their talons to where they came from, I am relieved to witness that all the requests are on their way to heaven. Pretty soon, we will know the results.

Now my job is to sit back and have faith in God’s will to be done on earth.

Friends, praying is wonderful, but without the faith that your prayer will be answered, we are just talking to talk. If you're struggling today to find faith in your prayers, reach out! Don’t do this alone. Remember in Matthew 18:20 -  “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Sometimes we need help with our unbelief, as shown in Mark 9:24. Take a step of faith today and put your prayer in the basket, share it with a friend, and trust that God will deliver according to His will.

A question arises, so I move to Step 5.

Step 5: Ask. Seek

The requests/questions that came to mind are:

• Holy Spirit, who can I pray for today who might be in need?

Step 6: Hear. Write. Receive

Here is the answer I received:

“You have plenty. Just begin, and I'll guide you. The most important thing is your prayer posture. Let it be one of faith. No matter what, trust in the LORD’s response since he may have been answering you quicker than you think.”

Step 7: Pray. Confirm

If you used the scripture of the day and need prayer or someone to pray with you, connect Here. Remember, you are not alone.

Step 8: Share. Testify

If you used the 8-Step Prayer Practice today, we would love to hear about how God is working in your life! You can comment below or share your miracle or testimony HERE.

Conclusion:

Friends, let's fill up our prayer baskets today.
Let’s trust that our prayers that go up will come down with the LORD’s will for our lives.

Let’s pray without ceasing, for the LORD is big enough to handle all requests.

Mostly, know the LORD loves you and has plans to prosper you and not harm you.

God bless you! See you soon.