James 5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. 19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

The New England Patriots were up 28 to 24 against the Seattle Seahawks in the final two minutes of the Super Bowl 49. In the fourth quarter the Patriots had taken the lead, and it was looking like Tom Brady would be getting his fourth ring. But, Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and the Seattle Offense would not go quietly. With a minute and fourteen seconds to go, Wilson threw a long pass down the sideline to a double covered Jermaine Kearse. But, that doesn’t do this catch justice. Kearse, going to the ground, originally dropped the pass. But, somehow, the ball hit his leg, bounced up into his hands, where he was able to pull it into his chest, all before falling out of bounds at the New England 5 yard line. 

Now, I have been a New England Patriots fan for my entire life. So, when I saw this catch I immediately got flashbacks to 2008, and the Giants’ David Tyree incredibly pinning a pass from Eli Manning to the top of his helmet as the hardnose safety, Rodney Harrison, took him to ground, setting up the game winning touchdown, and a spoiled ending to the Patriots’ perfect season. Eighteen wins and one…Giant…loss. Then I got another flashback to 2012, and the Giants beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl…again. This time it was an unbelievable sideline toe tap catch by Mario Manningham from Eli Manning. Which again, set up the game winning touchdown.

So, I sat in my dorm room, once again watching this once in a season highlight reel catch by the Seahawks, and I thought to myself, “Not again.” And, as Seattle lined up five yards away from glory, with arguably one of the best running backs, Marshawn Lynch, in the backfield, I prayed. I prayed, and said, “God, if you give us this one, I promise I will never ask for another sports thing again!” 

I opened my eyes. Seattle snapped the ball, and they did not give the ball to Lynch. Instead, Russell Wilson dropped back and threw the ball to the goal line, where Patriots cornerback, Malcolm Butler, jumped the route and intercepted the ball! The victory was sealed! The Patriots were Super Bowl champions once again! And I shouted, “Thank you God!” And cheered with my friends.

Two years later, the Patriots found themselves in the Super Bowl again, against the Atlanta Falcons. And, at halftime they were down 28 to 3. So, I closed my eyes, and I prayed. “God, I know I said I would never ask for another sports thing again. But this time I really mean it!” And over the course of the next hour the Patriots crawled their way back in one of the most epic comebacks in football history, winning the game in overtime. Once again I shouted, “Thank you Jesus!”

Now, tomorrow, the New York Mets baseball team is playing the Atlanta Braves in a doubleheader, with a playoff spot on the line. And, I have been a lifelong Mets fan as well. And I have thought about praying for a victory and a playoff spot…but if I am honest I am worried that God will hold me to my promise this time. 

We hear in our scripture today that the prayers of faith lead to salvation for those who are sick. That those who are suffering should pray. That we should pray for the afflicted. That those who have strayed away from the path should be prayed for, and brought back in. James is telling us that in all things prayer is a proper response. And not only that it is a proper response, but effective and powerful. But we all know that prayer is more complicated than just asking for your favorite team to win. And we all know that even when we ask for something, like healing or relief, there is not a guarantee that it will come to us. So, why do we pray? What good does it do? Let’s put a pin in that one for a moment. And come back to it.

Let’s talk about prayer habits first. You know, the other day I was watching an old episode of The West Wing, which for those who don’t know was a fictional show that followed President Josiah Bartlet and his White House staff. And in this episode the staff brought a proposal to the president to support federal funding for a medical study on whether or not prayer actually works. Basically, the federal government paying people to pray. But, the president did not endorse the idea. He said, “My faith has known that prayer works for 2,000 years. I didn’t know there was data available.”

But, in fact, there is data available. According to the Barna Research Group 55% of American Christians say they pray every day. Most of them are women, most are over the age of 35. 86% of people who pray daily pray silently and alone. Of the things that are most often prayed for daily, 61% of people say they pray for family members, 49% are for personal guidance. 20% for national and global issues. 

What is clear to me is that regardless of why, people do pray. But, let’s get back to that question. Why do we pray? When there is no guarantee that prayer will “work,” what good does it do? Especially in a world that is full of family members who are sick, sudden life changes that bring stress and anxiety, and a world on fire with war and violence. Every day brings new challenges and fears. Turn on the news and see attempted assassinations of political leaders in the nation that boasts of being the world’s greatest democracy. We see bombs exploding in the skies over a place we call, “The Holy Land.” We see hurricanes that bring destruction and devastation. Every day we send out prayer requests because someone is in the hospital, or a diagnosis didn’t come back good, or a loved one has passed away. The world can be so overwhelming. The problems can feel so impossible to solve. And any power we have just seems to pale in comparison to the power of the storms that slam into the coast. So, what good is it to pray?

Simply put, in a world that can feel so overwhelming prayer gives us a way to stay focused on what we can control, and give up to God the things that are out of our grasp. Or as James reminds us, the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. When you pray out of your heart, in time, you will find that God inclines the ear. Prayer is powerful and effective when it comes to taking action in a world that can feel overwhelming.

One commentator wrote about James’s call to prayer, “Above all, there is the idea that no limits can be set to the power of prayer. The faithful had a saying that he who prays surrounds his house with a wall stronger than iron…To them prayer was nothing less than contacting the power of God; it was the channel through which the strength and grace of God were brought to bear on the troubles and problems of life” 

For our community of faith, prayer is always within our capabilities. You may not be good with kids, or be able to sing in the choir. You may not have money to give. But in all things you can pray. No matter your age, gender, marital status, or coins in your pocket, you have the ability to contact the power of God in prayer. That is why we as a church make the promise in baptism to help raise the child in faith, in no small part through prayer. 

It is never an inappropriate time for prayer. Marcy’s church has a “Meal and Worship” weekly gathering during the season of Lent. And, I really enjoy going to them, because I get to worship with my wife, and meet people who are a part of that church community. One time when I was sitting in the chapel waiting for the worship to start, this older woman sat behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. “You must be Marcy’s husband.” And we started talking. Then as the prelude started playing she said to me, “I know I just met you, but I have been praying for you and your family.”

After the worship service I was talking to Marcy, and she said, “Oh, you met Myrna! She is one that knows what it means to pray without ceasing.” As it turns out, Myrna has been calling Marcy every other week for three years and leaves her a voicemail with a prayer for her. Myrna does this for all of the pastors on staff at the church. And I can tell you personally that in the hardest days, it is a great comfort to know that someone is talking to God on my behalf.

Myrna is a prayer warrior.

We are told that when we are sick, we need to pray. When we are joyful, to pray. When there are those in our community who are suffering, to pray. When there are those in our midst who are wandering from the path, to pray. In a world full of hardship and suffering, war and violence, we are called to be warriors. Prayer warriors. We do not fight violence with violence or hatred with hatred. Because the prayers of the righteous are powerful.

But, sometimes it may seem like the answer we get is not what we originally wanted. And yet, friends, it is still an answer. Once when I was flying from Grand Rapids back home to New York for a college break, I was sitting next to an off duty airline pilot. We talked a little bit here and there, but mostly kept to ourselves. Now, something to know about me is that I really hate flying. And I have a habit of saying a prayer during takeoff and landing. Because those are the points that I get the most anxious about. 

I happened to be doing some reading for one of my religion classes on this flight as well, and the pilot next to me seemed to notice that I was reading a Christian book. When the pilot that was flying the plane announced that we had begun our descent into Albany, I closed my eyes and said a prayer silently. The pilot that was sitting next to me, who was feeling much more comfortable in our relationship than I was, asked if I was praying. I said yes. To which he said “that won’t do you a lot of good if this plane crashes!” And began to laugh to himself.

And I told him that I don’t pray on planes because I want to make sure we don’t crash. That is a little out of my control. I pray on planes so that I can feel a sense of calm and peace in a moment of great anxiety. And if this plane does crash, you’re right my prayer won’t do much, except hopefully give me a sense of peace in the end. 

I pray every time I’m on a plane. I pray for ease and peace, I pray for the pilots and the flight attendants, and I pray for courage for myself. I pray for these things because prayer is not a magic trick that can stop a plane from crashing, and God is not a genie in a bottle. And I think too often people go to God in prayer, asking for things that are just simply unattainable, and when they do not get what they want to use that as proof of God’s nonexistence or apathy.

But the truth is friends, prayer is never about ourselves. Prayer is first and always about God, and is our mode of communication with the God of grace and mercy. Prayer is an act of humility. When James tells us to pray, James is telling us to remember that our lives are not our own, but belong to God, who is the source of all things. And we may be bold in our prayer, because God expects us to call. And when we call upon God, God answers.

So, beloved of God, let us be quick to pray in all things. You do not need to be a poet or a prophet. You do not need to be perfect in prose. You need only to be yourself, and openhearted. And, when you do not have the words to pray, when the weight of the world is too much, may you be held in the arms of this community, who prays for you. And may you trust that your soul’s have been saved from death. Because the greatest truth is that before a single prayer leaves our mouths, we have already been lifted up in prayer by the great mediator, Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God. The good shepherd that calls all the wanderers back into the fold. 

In humility, and with boldness, dear friends, let us turn our hearts to God in prayer for ourselves, our community, and for the world. May we be prayer warriors. 

May it be so. Amen.