Welcome to the Believers Bible Assembly We've been talking about some things we should be doing

as believers in the body of Christ We need to edify one another we need to encourage one

another and we need to comfort one another continually Today I want to talk to you about praying for one

another As a believer prayer is one of the greatest gifts and privileges that a

believer has It is not only a means of communicating with God but also a way of bearing

one another's burdens In the book of James he exhorts believers to pray for one another and

he emphasizes both the power of prayer and being part of a community of like-minded

believers James chapter 5:16 says therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for

each other so that you may be healed The prayers of a righteous person is powerful and effective It produces

wonderful results So that's what I want to talk to you about today praying for one another Now let's get

some background on the book of James The Book of James is a book of

practical living Some equate it to the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament And it also shows believers

how faith works in our everyday life In James chapter 5 verses 13 to 18

James addresses prayer and he addresses prayer for different situations He says if anyone is suffering let them pray verse

if anyone is sick call the elders to pray and anoint with all verses 14 to 15 and he says

confess sins and pray for one another for healing and restoration in verse 16 So the emphasis of

this passage the emphasis of this verse is whether in joy whether in sickness and sin As believers we are

called to turn to God in prayer and to include our brothers and sisters in Christ in that process So

let's look at James 5:16 Let's look at some key points to help us understand the necessity of

praying for one another Number one prayer builds unity among believers James calls us to confess our

sins our trespasses to one another Now this verse does not mean a public confession

of every detail of sin but what he emphasizes is living with honesty accountability and humility in

the body of Christ In order to build unity among the brothers and sisters we have to be honest with

one another We have to hold each other accountable according to the scriptures and we have to be humble to

receive the correction to receive the instruction that comes from the scriptures in order for unity in the body

of Christ to be built When we are open and honest before God and each other

we break down the walls of pride and we strengthen one another in unity Galatians chapter

one another we are bearing one another's burden meaning the person that we're praying for does

not have to bear what they're going through alone We have the privilege to be able to intercede for one

another That's how we bear one of those burdens Sister brother you don't have to

go through this alone I got you I'm praying for you that the Lord will

strengthen your faith So it says to bear one another's burdens the way we do that is by praying for

one another And when we pray for one another we create a safe space for healing

forgiveness and reconciliation When we confess our sins to another brother and sister that's what we're

doing We're uniting with them in faith and together we go before the throne of

God seeking healing forgiveness and reconciliation So the first point is that prayer builds unity The second thing

I want to bring to your understanding is that prayer brings healing Now in the book of James he

connects confession and prayer with healing both spiritual and physical Sometimes sickness is also tied to sin but not

always Example is the man that was born blind in John chapter 9 verse 3 But regardless what prayer

does it invites God's restoring power into our lives Psalm 147 verse 3 says He heals

the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds James 5:14 says if anyone among you is sick let him call for

the elders of the church and let them pray over him When believers pray for

one another we become channels of God's grace and healing in each other's lives The third thing I want

to share with you today is that prayer is powerful and effective James reminds us

that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much The amplify says the

heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man a believer is able to accomplish much when

put into action and made effective by God It is dynamic and can have tremendous power It produces wonderful results

Prayer is not an empty religious ritual It is powerful because God hears the prayers

of His people Some of y'all think that your prayers are in vain No no the effective fervent

prayer of a righteous man And how are we righteous Our righteousness comes through our

relationship with Jesus Christ the righteous So when you pray you're just not performing or going through religious rituals

But when you understand the power of prayer you know that God is in it and it's

powerful because God hears the prayers of His people First John chapter 5 verse 14 says this This is the

confidence that we have when we approach God that if we ask anything according to His will He hears

us and if we know that he hears us whatever we ask we know that we have what we

have asked of Him So yes your prayers are not in vain The Lord hears you because you're praying in

accordance with His word And the righteousness that empowers prayer is not self-righteousness but the righteousness

of Christ in us Psalm 34:15 says this The eyes of the Lord are on

the righteous not the self-righteous but the righteous and his ears are open to their cry James

chapter 5 and verses 17 and 18 gives us a human example of Elijah When he prayed the

rain stopped and then he prayed again and brought it back The text gives us

an example of Elijah because he was a man of God chosen by God whose effective and fervent prayer brought

the will of God into being Now this doesn't mean that if it's raining outside you can

pray in the rain gonna stop No But here's the beautiful thing about prayer Prayer works

regardless of the season Prayer works regardless of its sunshine or if it's storming outside Prayer works because

prayer is powerful and prayer is effective and our prayers may not stop raining but

our prayers for one another can change our circumstances It can change and soften hearts We

have plenty of examples in the Bible of people that were hardhearted and the prayers of the righteous to God

soften that heart and prayer will open doors for God's will to be done in your life Prayer

is powerful and it is effective Now what are some things that we need to do to pray for one

another First of all prayer must be specific When you're interceding on behalf of a believer your prayer has to

be specific Now don't worry about if you don't know all the details because 10 times

out of 10 you will not know all the details But Romans chapter 8 verse 26 to

as we ought but the Spirit himself interces for us with groanings too deep for words And

he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit because the spirit

intercedes for the saints according to the will of God So you don't have to

know all the details about the situation but we have to be specific meaning pray

for that person by name and pray for the need of the individual if you know it It might

be a financial need it might be a physical need whatever it might be The Lord knows all

the details The Lord knows all the specifics Another thing we do when we pray

for one another is pray scripturally The Lord answers prayer of faith and the prayer of faith must be

according to the scriptures Not only do we need to be specific we also have to declare God's promises over

that person That's why it's important that we know the word of God Gone are the days of Lord if

it be thy will that's not a scriptural prayer God's will is his word What does God's

words say about that person situation and that particular need Declare God's promises over each other And when

you do that you're praying scripturally you're praying in the will plans and purposes of God And

by faith God will answer that prayer Third thing we need to know and understand we have to pray consistently

persistently That's the attitude that we have to have when it comes to prayer Pray

until something happens Praying consistently means that you have put your full faith trust in God and His

word and you're not gonna give up praying until breakthrough comes And the 4th thing is pray together We

talked about how as believers we are part of a community of faith a community of like-minded believers There are

no long rangers in the body of Christ That's why the scripture says that we are to confess our

sins to one another so that we can come together as a body corporately to pray and strengthen one

another Matthew chapter 18 verse 20 says For where two or three gathered in my name there I am with

them That's a promise of the Lord How do we pray for one another We pray specifically

We pray scripturally we pray consistently and we pray corporately together to strengthen one another in

faith So let me leave you with this James chapter 5 verse 16 calls us to a deeper

relationship with Christ and unity among one another in prayer When we pray for one another we see God's hand

of healing we see God's hand of restoration as he unites his people together as one Prayer is

not just personal it is a shared act In the body of Christ and we have

to be intentional about lifting one another up in prayer before God's son He's a faithful God and

we have to believe that he is faithful to answer our prayers that are in accordance with his

will plans and purposes that are found in the word The purpose of prayer is to edify

one another to encourage one another and to comfort one another as we live move and have our being

in this world 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 11 says therefore comfort each other and edify one another just

as you are doing Let's continue to pray for one another Let's continue to lift one another up as

brothers and sisters believers in the body of Christ Be blessed