James 5:15-16
And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
My prayers are usually very short. Mostly “oops!” and “Thank You”s.
I’ve been thinking about a story I heard last year about a girl who got sick at a Christian college. The students started a campaign to get everyone together to pray for healing, and word spread, friends and relatives joined in, maybe thousands of people all praying for this one sick girl. Then she died.
If prayer is expected to work like that, I would assume that at least one of those people had the right faith, the right balance, the right timing, the right “whatever it takes for prayer to work”.
But none of those prayers had the results they wanted.
I wasn’t surprised. There are countless stories of countless prayers that go unanswered. Is that the wrong way to pray?
I wonder if the Tower of Babel story in the book of Genesis is trying to teach us something about that.
It seems like that story is the first time in the bible where people got together and said, “Hey, let’s find a way to God, so we can use this power and make a name for ourselves!”
And God has a direct response, “If I let these people use my power like that, nothing will be impossible for them.” and He doesn’t allow it.
I’m sensing misguided expectations in the church these days;
people praying for what they want. and generally not getting it.
I don’t think we are supposed to be asking for what we want all the time.
I think that’s an improper desire for God’s power.
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