Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

James 5:16a
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
How are you? I wonder how you normally respond to that question. Probably, like most of us, you smile sweetly and summarise your life with one word: “Fine”. It’s a good word and if it’s true, that’s wonderful, and one can only hope that it will continue to be the case. But, if we’re honest, it is sometimes the word we use to push people away. What we’re actually saying is: “It’s none of your business. Leave me alone. Hopefully if you think I’m fine you won’t bother me again.”
The reality is that we are not always fine. Sometimes we feel awful, and there are times when we know that we have failed miserably. James is encouraging his readers to be honest and to face up to the stark realities of life. We need to be real with one another and actually confess our sins and pray for each other so that we can find God’s healing.
I don’t believe that God is calling us to share absolutely every inner secret and sin with one another. But I do believe that churches need to be places of love and encouragement where we feel able to reveal the people we really are.
Question
What could you do to help your church to become a more loving and honest community?
Prayer
Thank You Lord that Your love for me is so complete that I can always feel safe to be totally honest with You. Help me to be more open with my Christian brothers and sisters, and to be more loving and forgiving. Amen

James 5:14-15
Is anyone among you ill? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
Jesus was both a healer and a teacher. You cannot divide up His ministry. He ministered to the whole range of people’s needs – body, mind and spirit. When Jesus left this earth, He commissioned the Church to carry on with that ministry, and here in James we see a clear description of what that meant in practice.
In recent years, the word ‘holistic’ has become very popular to describe how God works. In the power of His Spirit He wants us to be whole people, enjoying Him and His world to the full. Many parts of the Church have tended to focus on words and preaching and have marginalised the healing ministry. But that makes no sense if we are truly following in the footsteps of Jesus.
Healing takes many forms and when we pray for healing, we will never be entirely sure how God will answer. Whenever I pray for people I always tell them two things: firstly that I am absolutely convinced of God’s ability to heal, and secondly that I don’t know the way in which He will answer our prayer. In prayer we entrust ourselves into God’s loving, healing embrace.
Question
For whom are you going to pray for healing today?
Prayer
Thank You Lord that Your desire is for everyone to be whole in body, mind and spirit. Help me to both receive and share Your healing touch today. Amen

James 5:13
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
I once heard a well-known preacher tell the story of a young woman who said she often didn’t feel like praying. His response was that prayer is not a glandular condition! Prayer is something we need to do whatever our feelings. That’s precisely the point that James is making here. In short, it’s always the right time to pray – whether you are going through a good or a bad time.
God doesn’t want us to pray as if we need to find the right magic words and then we can forget about Him until the next time we have to say a few prayers. He wants a relationship with us within which we fully share the ups and downs of life.
I love that the Bible doesn’t present us with a line of holy people who always got it right. The Bible is almost the opposite of that! It tells us the story of people who struggled and often failed. And amid it all we see how those frail and failed human beings discovered that God loved them and had a purpose for their lives.
God doesn’t want us to be religious people who say beautiful prayers and then shut Him out. He wants us to live what might best be described as a life of prayer.
Question
What steps could you take to share more of your life with God in prayer?
Prayer
Thank You Lord that You love me so much that You want to share every aspect of life with me. Amen

James 5:12
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No”. Otherwise you will be condemned.
James isn’t talking here about bad language but about the very common practice at the time of trying to strengthen a statement by taking an oath. Jews made a distinction between oaths made in the name of God, which could never be broken, and other oaths that didn’t mention God, which could be broken. James encourages his readers to make life much easier by simply telling the truth.
The Greeks held that the best guarantee of any statement was not an oath, but the character of the person who made it. Our words are the natural overflow of the lives that we live, so if we live with integrity, people will know that they can trust our words. If we always keep promises, people will know that the next promise we make can be relied upon.
Speaking the truth is the fundamental building block for every relationship. When relationships break down, it is almost always accompanied by lies and deception. The only way to bring a relationship back on course is by speaking the truth. This will often be painful and difficult, but it is the only route to build a solid and strong relationship, and this applies to our relationship with God just as it does to those with our colleagues, friends and family.
Question
When do you find it difficult to tell the truth?
Prayer
Thank You Lord that I can be totally truthful with You and know that You will always love me and forgive me. Help me to speak the truth in every situation, however tough it might be. Amen

James 5:11
As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
We don’t know exactly what James’ readers were facing, but clearly it was tough for them to live as Christians. They needed to persevere. Amid all the temptations, distractions and persecution that they were facing, they needed to hang in there for God. This is precisely what Job had done when he had lost his children, his possessions and his health. He could so easily have given in – but he didn’t. He persevered.
There are many times in life when God calls us to simply endure. William Carey was the father of the modern missionary movement and he went to India in 1793. During his time there he faced a succession of problems and setbacks, including a major fire which destroyed years of his work – but he kept going. He once said to his nephew: “If after my removal anyone should think it worth his while to write my life, I will give you a criterion by which you may judge its correctness. If he gives me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly. Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.”
Whatever we are facing today, God wants to us keep plodding on.
Question
What have you learned from those tough situations which you have had to endure?
Prayer
Thank You Lord that You will never leave or forsake me. Thank You that I can be sure that You will be right beside me whatever I have to face. Amen