“The neglected child”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Saturday, November 23, 2024

James 5: 13-20 (Forward, p. 26) CEV p. 1276

Funny thing: I’m not sure just why this image has popped into my mind, but perhaps it came from the barrage of TV ads that appear around this time of year, ads that speak of neglected and malnourished children around the world or endangered species of animals that are often very vulnerable. Certainly, it calls to mind something of what I experienced as a social worker: a small girl who had drifted between so many foster homes that she called my ‘daddy’, because I was the one consistent person in her life. It was truly heartbreaking.

In a sense, the apostle James is speaking of a ‘neglected child’ in today’s passage. He is speaking of prayer, and to me, it is a sort of neglected child. I mean, how many, even among those who count themselves as friends and followers of Jesus, really devote themselves to prayer in any consistent and disciplined way? I suspect that the answer is much, much lower than it should be.

In today’s passage James gives us some admonitions to prayer, that is, reasons to prayer, or occasions for prayer, but also shares with us some very encouraging examples of answered prayer. First then, some occasions for prayer:

-when we’re having trouble

-when we’re happy or feeling good

-when we or someone else is sick

-when someone else has sinned or strayed from the faith.

At first, all of these may seem self-evident, but are they? Do we really put them into practice?

When we’re having trouble, for instance. Trouble on the local or

provincial or national or world stage: do we resolutely, carefully,

and diligently pray about these? Or how about relationships?

or how about personal issues, money for instance? And, in all

these, do we wait only for big issues before going to God in prayer?

how about when we’re happy or feeling good? Don’t we, in the

heat of the moment, just luxuriate in how good things seem, and

forget to say thanks, forget to sing praises?

And how about when we or someone else is sick? Don’t we often

fall into the trap of either thinking that the issue is too big for God,

or too small to worry about? I know that I fall into the latter trap:

faced with a niggling, insistent, persistent cold, I simply put up with

the discomfort and aggravation, and never even think to make it a

matter of prayer.

And then, how about this final category: when someone else has

sinned or strayed from the faith? I’m afraid that, in our personalized

individualized, compartmentalized faith, we don’t even think of this.

Yes, even if the person admits the problem, we are hesitant to poke

our noses into it.

And now, for the examples of answered prayer:

He mentions the faithful and effective prayers of the church elders,

presbyters or priests. Laying hands and anointing the afflicted person

works, if you only have faith!

From there, he goes on to cite the example of Elijah. Elijah was a

person just as human—and fallible and weak as us—and yet his

prayers had great impact, impact that was national in scope and

effect.

And so there is good reason, abundant reason, not to neglect this matter of prayer, because, just as I have seen the misery of a human child that is neglected, I have seen the happiness, joy and spontaneity of a child that is truly loved, nourished, and cherished. And, if we do that with God’s ‘child’ of prayer, we will likewise be incredibly blessed.

Forward notes: “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (verse 16b).

“I don’t think I have ever been more challenged to understand prayer than during my summer as a hospital chaplain. As part of my role, I was regularly called into rooms where someone was sick or sometimes even dying. Often, their families asked me to pray.

“I learned to pray for healing while holding space that healing to look like something different than what we might have been hoping for. So often, when we pray for something, we already have the exact simage in our mind of what we want it to look like when God responds. We pray, imagining God is some sort of wish-granting factory.

“Prayer is answered. It is powerful and effective, as Scripture says, because it changes us. Prayer opens our hearts to receive the will of God, whatever that may be.”

Moving Forward: “Try a new prayer practice. Notice how it opens your heart to receiving God.”