James 5:13-20 (NRSV)
Read James 5:13-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Verse 14Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. Verse 15The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Verse 16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Verse 17Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Verse 18Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. Verse 19My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, Verse 20you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Devotion
The funnel is a guzzle for one person alone; a megaphone is for others, for relationships. We turn and change direction to the other.
The closer we get to Jesus, the closer we get to each other. We are kin in Christ – sharing his blood, sharing his tomb, sharing his life. We speak to Jesus, and we speak to each other. Suffering? Sick? Sinful? Wandering? We speak to the One – and to each other. Cheerful? Forgiven? We speak to the One – and to each other.
Relationships need communication. We speak in words and deeds – to God and to each other. Keep the megaphone in your mouth and the funnel – if there is one – in your ears.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, don’t let me go solo today; remind me of the team. Draw me closer to you – and, in the drawing, closer to those you love. Help me to love, in your name. Amen.