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James 5:13-14 ESV

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

I. The Priority of Prayer
A. Prayer is the appropriate response to all of life’s situations.

II. The Pretext of Prayer
A. We should pray in suffering knowing God understands and has suffered for our sake.
B. We should praise God in prayer in the midst of success for His hand orchestrating a season of sweetness.
C. We should pray to God when sick ourselves and for the healing of others who want it and ask the elders of the church for it.

III. The Perpetrator of Prayer
A. Part of the power in prayer is in not just the positional righteousness but the practical righteousness of the one who offers it.
B. Who prays matters because while God may hear the prayers of the unrighteous His hand is unmoved by their prayers.
C. As God’s adopted children we are free to ask God for anything and as God He is free to answer in whatever way pleases Him. (Deuteronomy 29:28, Psalm 115:3)

IV. Next Step
A. To make a prayer a priority, have a plan for how to pray rather than wandering around randomly when you pray.
B. To make prayer a priority requires we make spending time with and communicating with God a priority.