PRESCRIBED CHRISTIAN RESPONSES TO LIFE MATTERS

Can I pray for you in any way?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 5:13-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Life isn’t easy. Live it long enough and you’ll discover it to be true.

This isn’t some new epiphany. Not by a long shot. For as long as men and women have walked the earth, they have experienced hardships and challenges. Times have changed and with that cultures have as well but matters like troubles, happiness, and affliction have stayed consistent through the ages, just has the word of God which gives us prescriptions to follow in order to deal with the things life can bring against us.

Take Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Here’s what we find from the scriptures that will help a person deal with the matters of anxiety, stress, fear, and worry:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 4:6-7

Trust God as the One who can do all things to include handling whatever it is you are anxious of, worried about, afraid over, or stressed out about. Lay all your burdens at His feet and have faith He will handle it in His perfect time and in His perfect way. And through this act of submission, discover a peace that this world will never be able to offer.

That’s the prescribed process here, given to us by a Lord who perfectly prescribes without fail. All we need to do is follow His prescription.

As we continue to study from this final chapter in the letter James wrote to his brother and sister Hebrew Christians, we find the Lord speaking through him with three more prescriptions that direct us as to how to respond to specific life matters. Look again at his words here:

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. James 5:13-14

In regard to trouble, the Word tells the Christian believer to pray and bring those petitions mentioned in the Philippians passage to the Lord who can do something about the problem at hand. If a believer has trouble knowing what to pray, we find Jesus offering how we should do it. Here’s what He said:

“This, then, is how you should pray:”

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

“Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:9-13

In what is the Lord’s prayer, Jesus tells is right away to pray for God’s will to be done and this is the core principle of the matter of prayer as prescribed by the Bible. We are to always seek God’s will in any and all circumstances, and then pray for that will to be done. Going to the first letter of John, we find an affirmation of this truth in the scriptures. Here’s what we read in the fifth chapter:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. Vv.14-15

When we ask for God’s will to be done in our matters of trouble through prayer, He will hear us and then reveal that will to us as He walks us through what He wants done at the time He wants it done.

So that a prescription for times of difficulty but what about the good times, the times of happiness we will experience in life?

Note that we are to lift up our voices while singing songs of praise to God. This can be in the way of classic hymns you may have grown up learning in church or the more contemporary music styles of today. No matter what song you choose, sing it and sing it loud as you give thanks for the goodness of the God we serve. Let everyone know the sure hope and salvation you have through your belief in Jesus as Savior and underscore that testimony with praise.

Finally, the Word touches on the matter of sickness and prescribes for the following be done:

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

Every church typically has an elder or deacon body that helps govern church operations in support of the Pastor. Note where the afflicted person is given a prescription for how to handle their illness. They are to contact the church so to schedule a time when the elders can a “pray over them” and “anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” This is because the power of a group of Christian elders is absolutely powerful and they should never be taken for granted.

In today’s message, we have looked at four different life matters and the actions God has prescribed to His children, the ones He loves so dearly. Let us all commit to doing as He commands in obedience to allow Him to work amazing acts of love and deliverance in our lives.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.