Thursday 29th January

Quiet your heart and mind. Imagine going with Jesus to a quiet place. Humbly kneel at Jesus’ feet.

“Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!”

Psalm 66:5

Ponder: Jesus “took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them (Mark 10:16)." Imagine that you are one of those children.

Scripture

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

First, imagine Jesus is focusing on you, looking you right in the eye, and holding out a gift for you. Hear Him pray this over you. Read the blessing again slowly. What do you notice?

Prayer power

In these verses from James, the half-brother of our Lord, we see prayer power. Four things in relation to prayer power to draw from this passage: First, prayer is important. The scripture here teaches us that prayer is the way to overcome difficulties such as sickness and discouragement, or other needs. Second, prayer is power. By praying, we invite the Almighty God into our situation, and God’s presence is power. Third, prayer is, or can be, effective. When we pray we get results. The effectiveness of prayer is based on our faith and in the goodness of God. As such, we pray confidently and we pray with expectation. And, fourth, confessing sin and forgiving one another are the principles of prayer which we need to abide by, in order to experience the power and the effectiveness of prayer. Therefore, we must seek victory over sin and we must live in forgiveness with one another. The good news is prayer power is at everyone’s disposal.

• So, are you going through difficulties, such as sickness, loneliness, or discouragement? Take time right now to pray.
• Thank God for the mechanism of prayer through which we experience God’s power.
• Think of the needs of someone, or of the ministry of TeachBeyond, and spend time praying for those needs.
• Is there unconfessed sin in your life? Confess it. Is there someone whom you need to forgive? Forgive them. Do you tend to struggle with forgiving other people? Pray for a forgiving spirit.

Ruth Mbennah, Sparrow Project Lead Facilitator, TeachBeyond Tanzania

Now ask God who you can pray this prayer for. Imagine them sitting on Jesus’ knee as you pray.

Kids’ Question: Who is someone you would like to pray for today?