“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:13-16, NIV

How often and how specific do we pray for lost souls who are our friends, or the coworkers we relate to daily?  How passionately do we pray for our dearly beloved within our family?  Never underestimate the power of prayer, James teaches.  Never underestimate all believers who fall to their knees, crying out to God, in Jesus Name, on behalf of all who need Him. This is called “intercession.”  When we pray passionately for each other we are standing in the gap for each other when one of us is need of God and His help.

Be assured, God hears the sincere prayers from those who intercede on behalf of their friends and family and even for their enemies!  Yes, enemies!  Jesus said to not only “love our enemies but to pray for them!” (Matthew 5:44) Jesus teaches prayer in ways the people on the mountain had never heard before!  When we pray for our enemies,

Jesus is teaching us to pray with a heart that actively desires their good. Then Jesus tells us how.  We should ask God for their blessing, seeking their transformation, rather than seeking revenge, for them to overcome evil with good and become more like God. This involves praying for their salvation, restraint from evil, and even their divine justice, while keeping our own hearts free from bitterness and leaving the work of salvation to God.  

Who else is better fitted for prayer for our enemies than one who believes that Jesus forgives us when we forgive and pray for those who have sinned against us?  Think about it! 

Never underestimate the prayers of only one concerned person!  Prayer can make a difference in what God will do to and for His people. As Ezra prayed and wept at the altar before the house of God, “a very large assembly of men, women, and children” came together, and they fell under conviction of sin.

Ezra 10

The People’s Confession of Sin

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. ² Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. ³Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. ⁴ Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”

⁵ So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested. And they took the oath. ⁶ Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

⁷ A proclamation was then issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. ⁸ Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹ Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ Now honor the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.”

¹² The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: “You are right! We must do as you say. ¹³ But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. ¹⁴ Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this.

¹⁶ So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, ¹⁷ and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

¹⁸ Among the descendants of the priests, the following had married foreign women:

From the descendants of Joshua son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ (They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.)

²⁰ From the descendants of Immer:Hanani and Zebadiah.

²¹ From the descendants of Harim:Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah.

²² From the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.

²³ Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer.

²⁴ From the musicians: Eliashib.

From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Uri.

²⁵ And among the other Israelites: From the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah and Benaiah.

²⁶ From the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah.

²⁷ From the descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza.

²⁸ From the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai.

²⁹ From the descendants of Bani: Meshullam, Malluk, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth.

³⁰ From the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh.

³¹ From the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluk and Shemariah.

³³ From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei.

³⁴ From the descendants of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai and Jaasu.

³⁸ From the descendants of Binnui: Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah and Joseph.

⁴³ From the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We pray.  God works.  When we pray to God; we join Him in His work. In prayer, we are molded and shaped for the work He has prepared for us to be and do.

At times God’s people need to stop laughing at sin or mocking those who sin and start weeping and confessing on behalf of those who sin—along with ourselves because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, preaches Paul to the church then and now. James has something to say about us who are saints and sinners;

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:7-10

THIS is God at work in all who intercedes for others and confesses sins in Jesus Name.  Conviction leads to confession.  Kneeling before the Lord is the humbled position God uses for revival and restoration!

James includes the call to “pray without ceasing”! What does this mean?

There is nothing we cannot ask God!  He knows.  He hears. He is with us always. He answers with His best because of His love for us and His desire to talk with us. So, we pray, talking to Him as we would our best friend, ready to listen to Him speak to us—with every breath we take, “on all occasions,” James teaches.

Pray while folding laundry. Pray while rocking your babies to sleep. Pray, asking God for wisdom in stewardship as you buy groceries. Pray for what or for whoever is on your mind because God sees what or who is troubling you. God knows that when we pray to Him, asking for His help and guidance, our worries diffuse our anxiety and our burdens made lighter when we offer all to God for His help. 

Don’t forget!  God’s help comes with power, the same power that reserructed Jesus from death to life!  So, yes, prayer is powerful because God is all powerful!

“In the closing episode with the pagan wives, we see the same issue Paul dealt with among the Corinthians. He described it as unequal yoking, or having “a part” with unbelievers (see 2 Corinthians 6:14–18). This was not a case of racial or moral superiority but a case of spiritual survival. The problem with the marriages wasn’t foreign partners; the problem was believers marrying pagans and letting the pagans set the spiritual tone in the family. Any alliance that makes our allegiance to God secondary creates a commitment that undermines and ultimately destroys our faith.” –Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

Faith moves mountains indeed.  Prayer is the key to a strong relationship with the Mountain Mover! God/Jesus/Holy Spirit the Three-in-One who tells us which mountains to move!  But how will we know unless we talk with God in Jesus Name with power from His Holy Spirit?

Lord,

Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh my soul with your new mercies for today.  Restore the joy of your salvation at work in me. I pray for our family, church family, extended family, friends, and our enemies to see your glory at work today and be drawn to all you are!

In Jesus Name, Amen