Pray for me

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:16)

There is something so fearful, yet so powerful, about sharing one's hurts and hang-ups with another. We dread it, wondering what they will think if they know the 'true you', all the while just wanting someone to pray for us, lifting us before the throne of God until the thing that has a hold on us is finally and completely broken. The command is simple - listen to one another, pray for one another, be earnest in your requests, and then see God's power produce wonderful results. The action of confessing our need is often a bit more complicated - all because we complicate it in our minds and emotions!

We might not realize how easily our issues could be resolved if we would just confide in another. Their experiences may not be identical to ours, but they may have worked through other issues that are similar and the things they learned when they did could very easily apply to our present need. We just need to be open to listening to them, but the listening likely begins because we opened up a bit and shared our need. There are far too many times when others ask you to share your prayer requests without any intent on praying for your needs - they use it as fodder for 'gossip' in their "Christian circles". 

When we have a relationship that goes beyond surface deep, it is easier to trust those individuals with taking our needs before God's throne, isn't it? This is why God always asked us to do 'church' in a community - a community of believers, serving God, engaged with him on a daily basis, and growing in his truth. We need 'community' because community provides shelter, but it also provides support. We might not know just how much support we need in order to get through our present issue, but when we trust God to place people in our lives who will faithfully and frequently bring us before his throne, he won't disappoint. Just sayin!