James 5:13
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.”
Getting help in prayer is always beneficial to getting from God what we need. Of all the things the disciples could have asked Jesus to teach them, you will find that the only thing they asked to be taught was how to pray.
Praying is easily one of the most important things that Christian learns how to do. It is more important than learning how to raise finances for the ministry. It is more important than being an eloquent speaker. Prayer is the tool the Christian uses to access the power of God. The final verses of James 5 give the Christian lessons that will help them in prayer.
First, the foundational help to learn about prayer is simply to pray. You can know how to pray right, form your prayer, pray with proper respect, but if you don’t pray then the helps are useless. Most of the reasons our prayers don’t get answered is because we don’t pray. How can God answer your prayers if you don’t pray? You must set time aside to pray on a daily basis. God cannot answer your prayer if you don’t pray.
Second, sing before praying. The verse above says, “…let him sing psalms.” I have found one of the things that helps my prayer life is to play instrumental music before I pray. I don’t do this all the time, but when I’m struggling to get into the attitude of prayer, I have found that instrumental music will help put me in the right attitude to pray. If you’re struggling with getting into an attitude of prayer, trying playing instrumental music to see if it helps.
Third, pray expecting God to answer your prayer. Verse 15 says, “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick…” The prayer of faith believes God is going to answer it. The biggest enemy to prayer is doubt. If you go into prayer with doubt, how do you expect God to answer? Certainly, there are times when we have doubt, but you must ask God to give you the strength to overcome your unbelief. The father who asked Jesus to heal his child said to Him in Mark 9:24, “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” It is human to have doubt, but we must move beyond our flesh and have faith that God will answer our prayer.
Fourth, pray fervently. God says in verse 16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” A prayer that is not passionate certainly reveals to God that you don’t truly want for what you are asking. When a person truly wants something, they will become fervent and passionate about it. Friend, if you truly believe you need that for which you are praying, then you need to be fervent about it.
Fifth, the biggest thing that will help your prayer life is to pray again. When Elijah prayed and didn’t get an answer, he prayed again. Pray until you get the answer. Don’t ever give up on a petition of prayer. Praying again is what gets your prayers answered. Most of those who get their prayers answered are not those who pray the best, but those who never give up praying. Pray again for God to heal the loved one. Pray again for God to bring a loved one back. Pray again for God to save your marriage. Pray again for God to supply your finances. Pray again!
These are the helps I have used throughout my lifetime. I’m not the greatest prayer warrior, but I know if I will use these helps, I will get my prayers answered. You are no different than me. Use these helps and watch God step in and answer your prayers.