Prayer

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16).

Do you have a loved one who’s in trouble, but you don’t know what you can do to help? Is there a member of your family who’s in pain, but doesn’t want to talk to you about it? Have you lost touch with people who were special to you, and although you are still concerned about them, you have no idea where they are or how to contact them?

There are times in life when we desperately want to help another person, but circumstances get in our way. Sometimes we don’t know the right thing to do. Sometimes the other person doesn’t want our help. Sometimes we can’t help because the other person has gone someplace where we can’t follow or has disappeared from our lives without a trace.

It can be deeply troubling to know that someone we care about is suffering and in need, while we are unable to reach out and help them. But Christians are never backed into such a corner. Our Lord has given us a way to help others in any and every situation, regardless of any obstacles we might be facing. We can always give aid through prayer.

God promises to hear and respond to the prayers of the righteous. Who are the righteous? Anyone who has been redeemed by faith in the blood of Jesus: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). With the help of Jesus, our prayers are focused on the kind of requests that please God, and the Lord promises that such prayers are powerful and effective.

If you have a loved one who’s in trouble, but you don’t know what you can do to help, pray for him. God is infinitely wise—leave it up to Him to solve the problem. Simply ask God to give relief and bring about a positive outcome. If you have a family member who’s in pain but pushes you away, take it to the Lord in prayer. She can’t stop you from praying for her; you can ask God to provide the help that you cannot. If you have lost touch with people who are special to you and are concerned about them, you don’t have to know where they are because Jesus knows—so ask Him to keep watch over your missing friends. No matter how powerless you feel, you can always help the people who are precious to you—you can always pray for them, trusting in Jesus’ loving care.