Terri's Wellspring

So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect. James 5:16 GNT

Prayer is a powerful way to show our love and concern about each other. Our passage is a reminder to pray for one another. When situations arise, we may be quick to discuss it, talk about it and talk some more before we take it to the Father. When our first response is prayer, it allows us to connect with God, who is all powerful. We may know about one who is sick, another one who is mourning or yet others who are discouraged. Whatever the issue, we can pray to God for His blessings of peace, healing and love to be manifested in each situation. We can pray for His perfect will and His direction to guide our steps. With thanksgiving in our hearts, we can lift each other and our situations up to God in prayer. He is faithful to hear our prayer and to bless our situations in ways that we can’t imagine when we are submitted to His will.

Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again. James 5:16-18 MSG

And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 AMP

The “one another” instructions in the Bible are powerful. They often refer to our relational world of how we are to connect to each other. We know examples – love one another, pray for one another, encourage one another. Our passage today is a reminder of our need to be kind, compassionate and forgiving of one another. At first glance, when we read these instructions we may be quick to give ourselves a pass recalling all of the past ‘”nice” things we have done. On learning more about this scripture and what God desires of us, I realized I have more work to do. Being kind is more than a smiling face. It reflects a giving spirit and a desire to be useful and helpful to one another. Demonstrating loving-hearted compassion shows our genuine concern about each other situations. Forgiving one another freely and quickly for big and small things as our Heavenly Father does for us. Kindness, compassion and forgiveness are outward expressions of who we are as God’s children. They reflect who He is and as His children we should carry His identity and His likeness in our care for one another. Carefully considering how we respond to one another and seeking to demonstrate His example puts our relationships on higher ground. More kindness, more compassion and more forgiveness in the world are reflections that will shine bright in a hurting world.