Monday 17th
James 5:13-18
NIV (v13) – ‘Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.’
ESV (v13) – ‘Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.’
This section starts off with three questions, giving an answer for each one of them. (v13) The first is ‘Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.’ The indication here is that if you are suffering, pray for yourself! It does not mean that we should not go to anyone else to ask them to pray for us when we are suffering, but it is a good starting point to firstly pray for yourself! Then ask others to pray. There is nothing wrong or selfish about praying for yourself, we should be concerned about our own personal wellbeing, we should feel able to come to the Lord in prayer to pray for our own needs, and especially as here in this text, when we are suffering.
The second is ‘Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.’ I would like to think that we who are born again are all within this category of being cheerful, but there are those moments where we feel more joyful or cheerful than at other times, especially if as in the previous point we are not suffering or as in the third point we are not sick, but cheerfulness should lead us to praise. I have been enjoying listening over the last few weeks to a particular channel on ‘Youtube’, from a Church in Northern Ireland, and I just love the singing that comes from there, but there is one song in particular that I enjoy, the congregation is singing the song, ‘Where would I be if Jesus didn’t love me’ and continues ‘I’m glad he did, so glad he did’ (I have listened to it numerous times) and the pastor is exuberant in leading this song and it is so true that we can be so glad because Jesus loved us, it leads us to be cheerful in heart. For we who have been born again should be cheerful, and I suggest that we should still be even when we are going through a difficult time, for the one who loved us and saved us is with us, and he is there to strengthen us and to support us, imagine suffering without Jesus! Sadly, many are, and it could be through us being cheerful even during a trial that they will see that we have that which they lack and which they are so desperate for. ‘Is anyone cheerful? Let him praise.’ It was Paul and Silas who taught us the valuable lesson of praise during trial in Acts 16, while in prison, not sure of what the day would bring, it says that at midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God. They fitted the bill for both these first two points, they were suffering – so they prayed, but at the same time they were cheerful – they sang hymns of praise.
One of the older hymns is ‘Come, let us join our cheerful songs with angels round the throne, ten thousand, thousand are their tongues, and all their joys are one’.
It is good to be a praising person, one who is willing to lift their voice to worship the Lamb that died, the Lamb who was raised and is seated as the exalted One, for praise is good and praise is right, so feeling cheerful? then praise the Lord, lift your voice, for as the same hymn continues, ‘Jesus is worthy to receive honour and power divine, and blessings more than we can give, be, Lord, for ever thine’. Would it not be sad if the sound from the choir was lacking because your voice or mine was missing!
Another more modern song, goes ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, your perfect love is casting out fear . . .’ it continues with ‘still I will praise you, Still I will praise you.’ Cheerful – then praise, suffering, yes pray for yourself, ask others to pray for you, but please do not stop praising, He is worthy.
We will come to the third question and answer tomorrow.