{"id":6390,"date":"2015-04-17T01:00:19","date_gmt":"2015-04-17T01:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6390"},"modified":"2015-04-17T22:24:42","modified_gmt":"2015-04-17T22:24:42","slug":"james-513-pray-sing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6390","title":{"rendered":"James 5:13\u2014Pray. Sing."},"content":{"rendered":"

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.<\/em> James 5:13<\/p>\n

No matter your shape or condition, go to God. Whether you\u2019re hitting rock bottom or are happy as a clam, make it your practice to look to the Lord\u2014for help or to praise.<\/p>\n

Is anyone among you suffering? <\/em><\/p>\n

Are you<\/em> suffering? Be honest about it\u2014many times Christians don\u2019t like to admit when their circumstances are too much for them. As a result, they neglect finding the help they need by pretending nothing\u2019s wrong. However, God is intimately acquainted with your stress, pain, anxiety, frustration, shame, and fear. He not only knows all about it but also understands how it grew to be so enormous. He knows more about it than you do yourself\u2014and He knows how to bring the remedy and solution into your situation. Why live with the knots in your stomach, the sleepless nights, the crying jags, or the fits of frustrated rage any longer? Are<\/em> you suffering? You must<\/em> pray.<\/p>\n

Then he must pray.<\/em><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re facing incredible frustration, agonizing stress, or unbearable heartache, the last<\/em> thing you should do is \u201cnot bother God\u201d. Bother Him! He knows the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30); He knows when you sit down or rise up; He scrutinizes your path and your lying down, and He\u2019s intimately acquainted with all your ways.\u00a0<\/sup>Even before you say a word, He knows what you\u2019re going to say (Psalm 139:2-4). He knows more about you than the NSA (they may read your emails, but they can\u2019t<\/em> read your heart\u2014that ability belongs to Him alone!), and He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He\u2019s on your side, and He has all the answers\u2014along with the power and desire to bring those answers\u00a0to you.<\/p>\n

Is anyone cheerful?<\/em><\/p>\n

Much of what is written in the Bible concerning our day-to-day lives is to equip you to stand fast in the Lord during troubles and tests of all kinds. However, you\u2019re not always<\/em> in the middle of an intense trial, and this little phrase in James\u2019 letter acknowledges that fact. Do you feel great? Are things going well? Have you just experienced one of God\u2019s blessings? Is it hard to wipe that smile off your face? Then there\u2019s an app for that\u2014a \u201cJames app\u201d:<\/p>\n

He is to sing praises.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sing. Sing to the Lord. Sing praises to Him. Make singing to Him a practice every time something wonderful, sweet, kind, or merely pleasant happens to you. Give Him the glory\u2014He is so worthy of it. You don\u2019t have a decent singing voice? Join the club! Sing to Him anyway. Sing songs that you know and songs you make up\u2014sing about the specific blessing He\u2019s given you. It may sound funny to others, but you\u2019re not singing for them<\/em>\u2014it\u2019s to the Lord on High that you lift up your voice.<\/p>\n

Moses spoke to a people on the verge of entering into great blessing. He said, \u201cWhen you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God <\/strong>for the good land which He has given you<\/em>\u201d (Deuteronomy 8:10, emphasis added). Singing to the Lord is a tremendous way to bless Him.<\/p>\n

Moses went on to explain why it is so imperative to prioritize blessing God. He said, \u201cBeware that you do not forget the Lord your God<\/strong><\/strong>\u2026otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them\u2026and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud<\/strong> and you will forget the Lord your God<\/strong> who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery<\/em>\u201d (see Deuteronomy 8:11-14).<\/p>\n

You bless the Lord so you don’t forget all that He has done for you. You sing praises to Him so that you don\u2019t take His kindness for granted. And there\u2019s something about singing to Him\u2014your heavenly audience of One\u2014that is deeply personal, vulnerable, and intimate. What a way to draw close to Him! What a way to minister your love and appreciation to His heart!<\/p>\n

Are you suffering? Then pray. Are you cheerful? Sing praises. Your God is with you in tight places, and He\u2019s the Architect of your breakthrough and blessings, as well. He never fails.<\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/p>\n

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. <\/em>James 4:8a<\/p>\n

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out<\/strong>. <\/em>John 6:37<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. James 5:13 No matter your shape or condition, go to God. Whether you\u2019re hitting rock bottom or are happy as a clam, make it your practice to look to the Lord\u2014for help or to praise. Is anyone among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[121,120,123,122],"class_list":["post-6390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-5","tag-he-is-to-sing-praises","tag-he-must-pray","tag-is-anyone-cheerful","tag-is-anyone-suffering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6390"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6397,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6390\/revisions\/6397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}