"I DIDN'T STAY THERE"

James 5:13-20 (NRSV)

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

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Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
- James 5:16 (NIV)
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MY husband and I tried to thank an older friend for her ministry to us, but each time she deflected the praise onto God. "I simply had to call you," she said. "God placed you heavy on my heart."

Her weekly calls had begun during an intense struggle in which I faced my dad's illness and possible death. As our conversations progressed, I moved beyond the facade of saying, "We're fine," to talking about the pain, the unfairness, and eventually the anger I felt toward God and about my circumstances. With tenderness, she responded to each accusation, "I know; it is hard." She ended each conversation by asking, "But you don't want to stay here, do you? Can I pray that you will be able to move beyond this?" So we would pray. Prayers became my weekly antidote to the fear, anger, and bitterness raging within me.

A year later, Daddy's brain tumor had caused his death, but I had moved beyond my anger and pain. I embraced my friend who had allowed God to use her and whispered, "Thanks to you, I didn't stay there."

Prayer: Thank you, God, for those who bring your loving Spirit into our lives and lead us, through love and prayer, into your presence. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Who has walked with you through pain and led you to God's comfort?

-- Carol Ann Landis (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those with a parent near death