“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray“– James 5:13

As James writes, from his pastor’s heart, to the people of God, his entire letter is full of practical instruction and direct admonition. He does not have a flowery style or a theoretical bent; he is interested only in getting clear, candid counsel into the hands and hearts of believers.

And when he comes to the matter of affliction—gut-wrenching, spirit-pounding, heart-crushing affliction—this practical pastor gives his guidance in only three words: let him pray.

“Is that it?” we might ask. What about formulating an exit strategy? What about checking all our options for circumventing the pain? What about gathering a support group to cheer us up and cheer us on? The greatest therapy, the surest solution, the sweetest healing that we will find, James says, is in fervent and honest and faith-full conversation with God.

James is not suggesting a momentary, fleeting mention of our trial—perhaps in the middle of blessing our breakfast food—as the answer to affliction. The verb he uses is in the present tense: let him, in other words, continually be praying.

Perhaps you know what it is like to be so pressed by a sorrow or pain or trial that you pray, not only as you breath, but in order to be able to keep on breathing. There are times when God’s people truly find Him their only source of strength, of life, of purpose, and of joy. They pray, not because they have to, but because they can’t not pray.

Whether your affliction is earth-shattering or hardly-worth-mentioning, take your trial to God in prayer. And out of the fountain of close communion with your Father, will flow the calming, refreshing, restoring waters of spiritual renewal.–Baptist Bible Hour

“The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart“– Hebrews 4:12

Notice first that the Word of God is quick, or alive. It always is (present tense) alive. God’s Word will always be true; it is alive forever. And therefore God’s Word is always relevant, never just a dead carcass, a used up and empty vessel from the past. It is the living, breathing truth of God. And, as Psalm 100:5 extols, “His truth endures to all generations.”

The Word of God is also powerful. It is, in other words, energetic. It is not only living, but energetically efficacious. God’s Word, Paul tells us, “is the power of God unto salvation” to every one that believes” (Romans 1:16). Have you ever felt the moving, slicing, energetic operation of God’s Word on your heart as you read, or listened to, or meditated on its truth? If so, then you know the kinetic power of God’s Word to reach and melt and prick the heart.

But it is here compared to a sword—and elsewhere called a sword (Ephesians 6:17). Why do we need a sword? Because we are in a war. We daily battle, whether courageously or pathetically, the ever-present foes of sin, self, and Satan. We need the spiritual power of God’s Word to strengthen us and fight for us against these foes.

Finally, God’s Word is called a discerner. The truth of God’s Word sifts through and analyzes the myriad of ideas, aspirations, and desires with which we are enticed and, as a qualified and a skilled judge, discerns truth from error, good from bad. It is a wise weapon!

Do you feel the need today for the energetic, discerning work of God’s Word upon your heart, directing your ways? The question is asked in Jeremiah 17:9, of the deceptive human heart, “who can know it?” The answer from Hebrews is: “the Word of God can.” (Copied)

“Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”– Psa 119:11

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”–Colossians 3:16

While studying in the Holy Land, a seminary professor met a man who claimed to have memorized the entire Old Testament in Hebrew. So the professor asked the man if he could give a demonstration. The man agreed, and the two met at the man’s home.

The professor took out his Hebrew Old Testament as the man asked, “Where shall we begin?”

“Psalm 1,” replied the professor, who was an avid student of the Psalms. And beginning with Psalm 1, the man began to recite from memory while the professor followed along. For two hours, the man continued without a single mistake as the professor sat stunned.

When the demonstration was over, the professor discovered something even more shocking about the man. He wasn’t a Jew nor a Christian, but an atheist. He knew the Scriptures better than most Christians ever will, and yet they had done nothing to change his life because he simply didn’t believe them.

Knowledge of God doesn’t always lead to maturity in the faith. In fact, there are countless people who know the Scriptures up and down yet simply don’t apply them to their lives. But the person who knows one verse and applies it is more spiritually mature than the one who knows many and applies none.

Yes, know the Bible. But more importantly, apply it to your life. That’s what it means to be mature in the Word of God!

Pray that God would help you take His Word and apply it to your daily life.(Senior Living)

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.“–James 1:22

Such a man is not only a danger, he is in danger, as the last half of the verse shows–“there is more hope of a fool than of him.” Fools don’t have much hope, except for the chance that something will happen to make them aware of their folly. However, the chances of the happening to “the man wise in his own conceit” are slim and none. As Spurgeon said, “The fool may learn, but the conceited man will not.  There is more hope of a sinful Publican than of a self-righteous Pharisee.” There is more hope for a stupid man than one who is self-conceited. H. V. Lugt wrote, “ The Lord Jesus reached down to the most despised people of His day—publicans and harlots—and forgave them when they repented. But He condemned self-righteous people and resisted all who didn’t face up to their sin. Refusing to acknowledge sin is a sure ticket to hell! Insisting we don’t need His forgiveness is life’s greatest sin. God can forgive us no matter what we do, but we must repent and turn to Jesus.”