Reading passage: James 5: 13-19
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. James 5:13 ESV
It is said that human life is a blend of afflictions and affluence! We all are in either of the situations. James says, we should pray when we are afflicted and praise when we are blessed. These are the only two attitudes that we should keep.
During times of affliction, we pray, but also we worry! We worry and pray. Most of our prayers spring from fear and worry. However, God wants us to trust and pray. Remember, trust and worry doesn’t ever go together. They are oxymoron contradictory words! (Fear and worry are siblings.) If you trust, you cannot worry and if you worry, you cannot trust. When you are afflicted, if you trust that to a God, who is concerned about you and who is able to help you, your prayers will spring not from worry or fear, but from faith.
What do we do when we are blessed? James asks us to praise! Praise is the spontaneous expression of a thankful heart. We pray when we are in trouble, we forget to give thanks to the Lord when we are blessed. The people of Israel received hundreds of blessings when they were in the wilderness. We see they sing praises to the Lord at the other shore of the red sea after their deliverance from Pharaoh and his army. In their journey, they had to face many more troubles. Even though they witnessed God’s concern and power many times in their lives, they always murmured, instead of praying. And when God delivered them, they never thanked Him! They were a thankless people.
Again, praise is an expression of humility. When you praise God for the blessings, you confess that you are not worthy to receive it. You give the credit to God.
A praying man is a humble man, for he admits that he cannot face any given situation on his own. A praising man also is humble, for he admits that he do not deserve what he received!
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for I worry many times. Give me faith. Also, help me to be thankful, AMEN.
Further readings: Phil 4: 4-7; Matthew 6:25- 34
