The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

James 5:13-20, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,

20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

Is anyone you know suffering? My church’s Prayer Request arrived today telling me that a two-year-old boy named Graham is suffering from cancer. An older preacher-cousin of mine has diastolic heart failure. And I can count 69 additional individuals from one church who are asking for prayer! Is anyone you know suffering? Are you kidding? Even some who are praying have issues that could put them on the list!

My heart breaks for the young people who are caught in the uprising in Iran! One girl, assured of her own forthcoming execution by her own people, read aloud for television the names and locations of friends she was certain would fall prey to the hostile regime of that troubled nation.

Are you suffering yet? Then James says you “must pray.” Still, prayer must be offered in faith that the LORD will hear and that He will answer. For our prayers to be even heard, we must confess our sins, clearing and cleansing our lives of all encumbrances to prayer. Yes, prayer truly works! Yet, its working depends upon the cleanness of our hearts and lives. James gives us Elijah as an example of “the effective prayer of a righteous man.” So, now we have it! What’s holding us up? People are suffering! “Dear LORD, please cleanse our lives and hear and answer our prayers.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom