The Conversation Called Prayer--March 21, 2022

 
The Conversation Called Prayer--March 21, 2022

"Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven." [James 5:13-15]

No matter where this day finds us, James advises us to pray. At some of these moments, perhaps praying seems natural. I notice in my own moments of worry or sickness that conversation to God comes almost without thinking--I cannot help but pray when I am in need.

But I am slower to pray when the day finds me "cheerful" or things are going well. It is easy to forget God's involvement and presence on those days, maybe because I still flirt with the illusion that I've got things under control. Unlike those days when things are falling apart, unlike the days when I'm stressed beyond coping or find a million things to do swirling around me, on my good days, I can fool myself into thinking that I'm juggling things by my own ability. On the days when grace perhaps ought to be most clear to me, I'm pretty good at not seeing it.

So James's words are a helpful reminder to see God present with me on every day. But maybe beyond that, James offers the honesty of seeing that life is always beyond my grasping it or controlling it completely. On "cheerful" days, cheerfulness is gift--not something I've hammered out myself. And so all I can do on those days and those moments is to respond with thanks and to enjoy the gifts of God. James also would have us see that God is as near as a conversation (whether or not we call it by its religious name, "prayer") at all times--God is not only available when things are falling apart or in crises. To be sure, the living God is present and active in those times of suffering, sickness, and need. But the living God is just as present on my "regular" days--allowing every day to be more than regular, but an opportunity to step further into the gifts and kingdom of this God.

No matter where this day finds us, God is present, and God is opening this day up for us to live as the blessed of God. And in this day, gifts abound for us--if our eyes are open to see them as gifts. In this day also lies the possibility that God might surprise us with the gift of making us to be a gift for someone else and not even know it. Whether we see it or not, God will be giving gifts to us and through us--and so perhaps our first prayer today ought to be for clear vision.

Living and ever-present God, open our eyes today to see your presence around us. Open our mouths today to offer thanks so that, in our saying it, we might recognize your gifts to us for what they are--signs of your grace and love. Open our hands today so that we might be gifted with the chance to be gifts ourselves for all around us.