It's Okay To Ask For Prayer

James 5:14-16 “14 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. 15 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. 16 Confess your trespasses[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

I’ve read this scripture before and only focused on physical illness, but what about spiritual illness? In my own walk, I have recognized areas of sin and weakness. Along the way I have come across people who have encountered church hurt that has left many hurting, angry, and often separated from not only church, but from God. The saddest thing I’ve seen are people who are so angry with God that they have not spoken to Him in years, nor are they open to talking with people of faith. I have found myself in all three categories: separated by my own sin, separated because of church hurt from my late 20s, and eventually angry with God because my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be. What do you do when your heart is hurting but you know that the core piece of you…your faith is missing? Well recently I called a friend. I knew my friend was a woman of faith, but I didn’t know how powerful she was until she prayed for me. She prayed for me so intensely that I felt chains being broken off of my heart, my mind, and my spirit. I’m sharing this because we often go to the wrong people. We go to people who will commiserate with us and tell us what we want to here. We go to distractions like hobbies, TV, social media. We do any and everything to avoid the heart of the matter: our own illness. How can we move forward when we need to be set free from the weight of sin? Not only do we need the Savior, but we often need the prayer of the saints to set us back on track. Thank you, my friend, for praying for me. Now I definitely know who to call.