5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 5:14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint 15 him with oil in the name of the Lord. 5:15 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. 16 5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) availeth much. 17 5:17 Elijah was a human being 18 like us, and he prayed earnestly 19 that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 5:18 Then 20 he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest. (James 5:13-20).

What is most significant about this passage to me is in verse 16: we must have 'effective, fervent prayer' in order for God to answer us. While it is true that Jesus says 'Ask anything in My name and I shall give it', if we are not born again, or "clothed in the righteousness of Christ" (Romans 5:17), then we are essentially blaspheming the name of Jesus, which of course is fruitless. It is only effective and righteous if we have accepted Christ as our savior. Even those of us who are saved, when our prayers are coming from a place of pride or waywardness, then they will not prosper. David tells us "If I regard iniquity in my heart, then the Lord will not hear" (Psalm 66:18).

But here is the most encouraging part: we are told "...prayer of A righteous man (or woman) availeth much"! We do not need to be discouraged because others around us don't see eye to eye, but look to Jesus alone for our source of righteousness. His love is so strong for us that He regards every single one of our prayers when they are molded after His will. And this is not because God is so high and mighty, but because if we are going about things in the wrong way, wouldn't God just be encouraging this if he allowed it to be fruitful? So let us keep praying, I can feel that there is revival taking place, and God is just aching to give us more. In Jesus name, selah.