James 5:13-20
Prayer Changes Us
Discipleship Pastor James Allison
There are certain relationships that we enter into that have a significant impact on every area of our lives.
Maybe you had a childhood friend. - There wasn’t a weekend where you two weren’t together - pool parties - junk food - sleep overs - it didn’t matter what it was, you were in it together.. You’d tell them everything. And you’d want to go everywhere - together.
For many of us, that relationship is best described by marriage. - Something special happens when God knits two souls together. The merging of two lives - full of plans, and preferences, and opinions - two realities colliding into the same space. That should have a significant impact in every area of our lives - from the way we talk to each other, to the way we spend money, to where we live, and what we do with our time - to where we are on a Friday night. There’s no area of over lives that go untouched in that kind of relationship.
And the same goes for new parents. If someone you knew had a baby, and you asked them, What’s it like being a parent”? They’re not going to say, “You know what… nothing’s really changed. My life - is pretty much the same.”
No, they’re gonna be quick to tell you, the way they sleep, and live, and see the world… everything has changed.
For each one of us - there’s a handful of relationships that leave no area of our lives unchanged. And that is never more true than in a relationship with God.
It’d be really strange to say “I have an intimate, heart relationship with the One who created the heavens and the earth and say, “But you know what… it really doesn’t have any effect on the way I think, or talk or navigate through life. Actually, there are days when I don’t even talk to Him that much at all.” That would be a really crazy thing to say.
And that’s what The Book of James has been saying - When we enter into a heart relationship with Jesus - our hearts are ignited on the inside, and it moves to the outside and begins to impact every area of our lives. It impacts the way we see and move towards others. It changes how we think about our plans. It radically impacts the way we steward our words. It should change the way we seek help and fight our battles.
And today, James doesn’t conclude his letter with the traditional goodbyes and blessing, instead he zeros in on one of the most overlooked, undervalued, and misunderstood aspects of our life - One of the ways God changes us the most - Prayer.
And today, we’ll see how prayer changes us.
1. Heart issue of pride
Prayer is the practice of
2. We wait to the last minute to pray.
Prayer is not a lifeline, it’s a
3. We view prayer as transactional.
Prayer isn’t transactional, it’s
Prayer doesn’t
- Remember who you are talking to
- Clear the air
- Give thanks