Today, Sunday December 13 – James 5 – Prayer and Patience! Patient people pray, and prayerful people have patience! The two go hand in hand. You can’t really have one without the other. James concludes his epistle talking about the patience of Job and the prayers of Elijah! In most cases, we can’t determine or help what happens to us in life. But we can choose how we will respond to the difficult circumstances and people that cross our paths. And how we choose to respond will be dependent upon how we have prepared ourselves ahead of time. In high school I had the privilege to play on a very good winning baseball team. All week long, before game day, we would practice every possible situation that might come up in a game, so that in the game, I didn’t have to take the time to decide what I would do when the ball came me. I was ready to instantly do the “right” thing with the ball. James reminds us that, when we are living a righteous life, that is, a life that is right with God, in obedience to God and His will, we can pray and expect to get our prayers answered like Elijah! James tells us that Elijah was a man of “like passions”. In other words, he was someone just like us with all our human baggage. And yet he was man of prayer and dedication, who was determined to do God’s will despite what it might cost him. Today, the Lord is seeking someone like you to pray and display His glory! Will you be that person? God bless!
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