James 5:13

NIV: Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

The Message: Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing.

This is such good advice from James.  No matter what is going on in our lives, no matter how hard things may be, or how god, he is telling us to turn to God, to give it all to Him.  Pray when times are bad, give Him praise when times are good.  I would actually take it further than that and say we should praise God no matter whether we are going through good times or bad.  As Paul says:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NIV)

To be honest, this is not always easy to do.  After all, when a loved one is ill, or something bad has happened, probably the last thing on your mind is giving thanks.  After all, how can you be thankful for illness, death, problems and worries?  But the thing is, when you turn to God, albeit perhaps in anger at everything that is happening in your life or to those around you, you take the focus off yourself and others.  Your eyes are turned towards God and, like David in the Psalms, you end up p[raising God.  Mind you, the praising might come a ling time after the complaints, the moans, the hurt, the anger that you end up throwing at God. 

I always think that when you get so wrapped up in yourself and everything that you are going through, then that is when the devil has a far better chance of having a go at you.  You end up wallowing in self pity and depression, feeling sorry for yourself, being hurt, neglected, abused or whatever.  I'm not saying it is wrong to dwell on the things that are happening, but you need to get your priorities right, your focus right.  I'm also not saying it is easy or that this is something that can be done at the drop of a hat.

God wants us to take everything to Him, the good, the bad and the ugly.  It's no good only turning to God when things are tough, just as it is no use praising God when things are good.  God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.  We can't praise Him one day because everything in the garden is rosy and then ignore Him the next because troubles have come.  If God is worthy of our praise when the sun is shining, why should we think any the less of Him when it rains?

And then there is the matter of prayer.  I have seen in my own life and the lives of my family and friends just how prayer can change things.  I know of one woman who is undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the medical staff are amazed at how she is doing because the side effects are minimal.  Things have happened in the life of one of my sons that you would have though impossible given the circumstances and can, in my opinion, only have been due to God intervening. 

Prayer is always answered, even though it may not be answered when we want or in the way we want.  My husband, for instance, has been ill with severe depression and anxiety for a number of years now, and there is still no sign of healing but I am having to trust God for this every day. 

So James and Paul, and the other apostles, are telling each and every one of us to take everything to God in prayer and praise, no matter what is happening around us, because when we turn to God, we take our eyes off the things of this world and place them firmly on Him. What better place is there to be than there?