Every Prayer Matters James 5:13-20

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves to hear His children pray. 

 

Today we’re going to talk about how every prayer matters, based on our Epistle, especially verse 16: The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  

 

Have you ever felt like your prayers don’t matter? Have you ever prayed in earnest for something, or for someone, and the answer you got wasn’t the one you wanted.

 

Maybe you prayed for the healing of someone you love, but that healing never came. 

 

Maybe you prayed that a relationship would be restored but that person is still alienated from you.

 

Maybe you’ve prayed for a loved one or a friend who has fallen from faith, but he or she still has a hard heart toward God. 

 

There are so many things in life that we care about, and the more we care, the more earnestly we pray. 

 

But the outcome isn’t always what we ask for. That doesn’t make our prayers any less important, or any less impactful. Every prayer matters; each one makes a difference.

 

I think of all the prayers lifted up to God on behalf of your and my favorite sports team… the Minnesota Vikings, prayers poured out for them at the beginning of each season, that this may be the year they finally win the Superbowl; and still we’re waiting. We pray they can just kick a short field goal and win a game; but it goes wide.

 

In all seriousness, sometimes that is God’s answer to our prayers: wait a little while or a long while; pray some more. 

 

Not that God is toying with us; He doesn’t play games with us. But everything that’s good for us, happens according to His timing, which is a part of His good and gracious will.

 

What can be really difficult is when we pray so hard for so long, and it doesn’t come to pass, or the opposite happens. It can feel like our prayers didn’t help.

 

What then? What’s next after you prayed passionately and earnestly, and were disappointed with the outcome? 

 

Is the answer to quit praying? Or quit believing? Or pray less? Or pray more cautiously, or pray cynically?

 

Or is it to pray as just as steadfastly and confidently as before? Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy. 

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 encourages us, 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 

Pray without ceasing. That doesn’t mean to pray every minute of every day, but to keep on praying. Pray and don’t give up, because your prayers matter, all of them.

 

God hears each one, each word we think or say as we pray. Whether we’re asking, or praising, or giving thanks, God hears them all. And that’s why they matter, because God hears, and He cares.

 

God loves to listen as His dear children pray. It’s like when our little children, our babies learn to talk, parents and grandparents hang on every word.

 

That’s how God feels about our prayers; He hangs on every word; He gives us His full and undivided attention.

 

Which is quite the feat, considering all the prayers being lifted up to God at any given moment. 

He has the power to hear them all, and the love to care about them all; He hears and considers our every word, and thought. 

 

So if God is always listening to us so intently, and cares for us so dearly, doesn’t it make sense for us to keep on praying?  It’s never a waste of time or effort, even when the outcome isn’t the one we want. It’s not about what we want; but about what God wills and wants. 

 

And in the end, isn’t that what we want, too, just for God’s good and gracious will to be done? Which is why we pray, “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done.”.

 

God didn’t give us the gift of prayer so that we can try control or manipulate Him into giving us what we want. If prayer is about getting what you want, then it’s bound to be a disappointment, because we don’t always want the right thing.

 

But if your prayer is about what God wants, His good and gracious will, then the answer is to never give up on prayer, to learn to love to pray, because God loves to hear you pray.

 

We pray for His will to be done, knowing that as Romans 8:28 says, all things will work out for the good of those who love Him.

 

I may think I know what’s best for me, or what’s best for others. And sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. God always does. 

 

So as trusting children, the thing for us to do is to pray to our benevolent Father in Heaven; and with our prayers, to place our days and our time in His hands. And in the end, we won’t be disappointed. 

 

We may be disappointed about the outcome of some things in this life; this life may not turn out exactly as we had planned or wanted. But we won’t be disappointed in the final outcome to all our prayers, which is life in Heaven. So we pray, Thy Kingdom Come.

 

In the end, all our prayers lead to life in Heaven. That’s because our prayers come from the faith in Christ the Holy Spirit has given us, by which we’re saved. 

 

Faith and prayer go together hand in glove. We pray to God because we trust  Him. 

 

Faith is the answer to our prayers, and the power for our prayers; which is why James says that the prayers of a righteous person, that is, someone who believes in Christ, has great power as it is working.  

 

Because God has the power, we pray. Because He will always do the right thing, we keep on praying; because He loves to hear us, we rejoice to pray.

 

God always hears you, and He always cares, and He’ll always do what’s best for you in the long run. That’s the power of prayer. The power isn’t ours; it’s God’s. 

 

The Holy Spirit moves us to pray, and faith leaves the answer up to God.

 

So let us pray from a heart of faith, confident in Christ, never giving up, because every word of every prayer makes a difference to your God. All your prayers reach His throne and touch His heart. 

 

Even though our prayers are sometimes and in some ways, flawed and inadequate, still God urges and invites us to pray. 

 

The Father accepts our prayers for the sake of His Son, who died and rose that we might live and pray. 

 

And He gives us a Helper, His Spirit, who sanctifies our prayers. 

 

Romans 8 says, 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 

 

As we pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, to perfect our prayers. How wonderful to know that all our prayers are sanctified and perfected by the Spirit of God.

 

What that means is that your every prayer matters. 

 

God never considers your prayer to be a waste of His time; as a loving Father, He always has time to listen to His dear children as we talk to Him.

 

If our prayers are never a waste of God’s time, then they’re never a waste of our time.  

 

Every prayer you’ve ever said, and every prayer you ever will say, makes a difference to God; may your prayers also make a difference to you.

 

Always be enthusiastic to pray; be confident to confide in God with an open heart; be bold to pray and never give up, because to your dear Father in Heaven, your every prayer matters. 

 

May God always bless you to pray; may Christ, His Son, always teach you to pray; and may the Holy Spirit always give you a heart that loves to pray.

 

And as you rejoice to pray, the peace of God that passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, who loves to hear you pray. Amen.