Prayer of Faith
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. – James 5:17-18
Dear Friends,
As many of you know, my 10-month-old niece, Abby, was in the hospital for almost two weeks. She suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, SMA-type 1, a degenerative muscular disease that slowly takes away the use of her muscles. Currently she has very little use of her legs, arms or neck. She cannot swallow and must be fed through a tube in her stomach. In her condition, she is vulnerable to the slightest illness. That’s what happened almost two weeks ago. Abby caught the rhinovirus, the common cold, but for Abby it was life threatening.
In the Epistle of James, James tells the believers that when someone is sick they should pray for that person and have the elders come and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. James assures us that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well, meaning that the Lord will raise him up.
Some may become discouraged when a loved one is prayed for and does not get well or in fact dies. Does James promise that everyone who is prayed for will be healed? Of course not. James tells us that first we must pray in faith. And what faith is that? I would suggest that it is faith that the Lord will do what is best for our loved one be it renewed health or renewed life through physical death. God makes that decision and we are putting our faith in God to make the right decision. So the Lord may raise the person up in health or may raise the person up in glory.
Many of you knew of Abby’s condition and many of you prayed for her. I thank you and my brother and sister-in-law thank you. And I believe the Lord did hear your prayers and I believe that it was His will to raise Abby up in physical health as a testament to His sovereignty. Sometimes, we may wonder if our prayers are really of any use. We look at the great figures of the Bible and consider that there is no wonder that God listened to Elijah’s prayers. But who are we compared to Elijah?
James answers that as well. Elijah was just a man, but he was a righteous man, a man saved by his faith, a true believer. And James tells us that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective. You don’t have to be a Bible hero for your prayers to be powerful and effective. You only need to be right before God when you approach the throne of grace.
So again, I thank you for your prayers and I ask you to continue to pray for Abby and her parents. For the full story of Abby’s miraculous recovery, you can read the journal entry my brother made at her website, http://caringbridge.org/visit/abigailjudge/journal.
In Christ,
David
