Hello, holy hackers!
As we round the final bend in our spiritual marathon through the book of James, we’re about to unpack the mother of all life hacks. It’s not just a hack, it’s a divine cheat code. It’s the Konami Code of Christianity. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start… prayer!
13Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. 19My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, 20you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
James 5:13–20 (NLT)
Now, if you’ve been trekking with us through James, you know he doesn’t sugarcoat the rocky terrain of life. He covered spiritual trials and social temptations to internal conflicts and external pressures, life can sometimes feel like a complex code that’s hard to crack. But here’s the plot twist: God has handed us a cheat code to navigate these gnarly levels. That cheat code is prayer.
That’s right, prayer is our direct line to the Divine Game Designer Himself. It’s our way of accessing God’s wisdom, strength, and guidance for every situation we face. And in this text, we see that prayer should be our priority, no matter what we’re going through: Whether we’re suffering or soaring (James 5:13), sick or sinful (James 5:14-15), in need of spiritual strength (James 5:16) or supernatural intervention (James 5:17-18), or when we see others straying (James 5:19-20), prayer is our go-to response. It’s our first line of defense, our constant communication with God, our lifeline in every situation.
But prayer isn’t just about asking for things. It’s about aligning our hearts with God’s, about cultivating a relationship with Him. It’s about acknowledging our dependence on Him and expressing our trust in His goodness and faithfulness. It’s about inviting God into our joys and our sorrows, our victories and our struggles. It’s our direct line to God, our source of strength, our means of grace, our way of influencing the world around us.
So, fellow holy hackers, as we delve deeper into the topic of prayer over the next few days, let’s make it our priority. Whether we’re on a mountain peak or in a valley low, let’s be people of prayer. Let’s be productive in prayer, not just saying words, but truly communicating with our Heavenly Father.
Remember, prayer isn’t just a religious ritual or a spiritual discipline. It’s a life hack, a divine tool given to us by God to navigate the challenges of life. So, let’s use it, let’s prioritize it, and let’s see the difference it can make in our lives.
How has prayer been a ‘life hack’ in your Christian journey?
Prayer is a wonderful thing. Especially when times are tough it can definitely be a “life hack” which can help us in our times of need. At the same time, I am also working on praying when I am not experiencing hardship. I do believe like James was saying that we should be constantly praying whether in the good or the bad, happy or sad. I know for myself personally I do not want to forget my need for God especially when times are good and it is easy to forget.
When I look back in my life living abroad without my parents and their guidance during my middle school to high school years I know that by God’s grace and through my parents’ faithful prayers God have kept me safe. When things could have easily gone wrong God protected me and saved me as His child. God hears our prayers and answers our prayers in His timeline. Today’s passage also reminds me that it’s not only about asking God for things to go well but it’s about aligning my heart and cultivating my relationship with Him through prayer. I pray that I can also be faithful in my relationship with God, lifting up others and their needs through consistent prayer life.
(from Hai)
God has used prayer in my walk with him in times of crisis (malpractice lawsuit, marital problems, etc.) to deepen my faith. He’s also used prayer to align my desires with His own (when he says “no” to things that I think I need).
As a “life hack” prayer has also been indispensable in giving me direction/guidance on so many decisions that changed the trajectory of my life (career, relationship decisions, ministry decisions, family decisions, child-raising decisions).
Sorry for the broad nature of the answer but the question was kinda 10,000 foot level. I’m sure we’ll get more specific in the next couple of days
In any important relationship communication is key! Our prayer life is vital to our relationship with God. I have learned over the years how to deepen my prayer life and connect with Him. It has been a “life hack” in my Christian journey, because I can talk to God when I am happy, sad, and even mad. I can share with Him things on my mind and heart. I can lift others up in prayer. Prayer renews, changes, and encourages me to remain in Him and keep the faith.
“How has prayer been a ‘life hack’ in your Christian journey?” The passage likens prayer as the first line of defense, but my own experience has also seen prayer as a last resort of sorts. Whenever I find myself in the depths of despair I turn to God for help and I say my prayers as it’s all I can think of to do at my lowest. I remember a moment back in highschool where I was struggling to focus in school and had just flunked my first class. After a long wordy lecture from my parents I felt like I hit rock bottom and I remembered laying in bed wondering about my academic prospects now that I ruined my GPA. My head was a cacophany of thoughts and I felt the night dragging on and I became restless. In an effort to quell my thoughts, I prayed. What did I pray for? I don’t actually remember, but I remember it feeling like I was just opening myself up to God. All my raw emotions and how I felt about school and family and life was poured out to God that night. Eventually I found peace in my dialogue with God and since then I’ve used this memory to remind myself that I can open myself up to God in any situation and He will reciprocate.