October 29th, 2026
At some point in your life, you are going to go through hardship. You may even be going through it right now. Life is not always going to be perfect, and it is not always going to be easy. You can have peace in the middle of difficulty. You can have joy when circumstances are challenging. You don’t have to live defeated simply because you are going through something, but that doesn’t mean you will never face suffering.
So what are we supposed to do when hardship comes?
James 5:13-15 says,
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”
The Bible gives us a very simple instruction. If you are suffering, pray. If you are sick, call for the elders of the church and let them pray over you. Then James tells us that the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up.
But that brings us to an important question. What does it actually mean to pray?
Imagine for a moment that you were on trial for a crime you didn’t commit, but you had a horrible lawyer representing you. When it was time to present your defense, your lawyer stood up and said, “Judge, this is such a nice person. Please don’t send them to jail. I know this looks really bad, but please have mercy. They don’t deserve this. Please, please let them go.” You might as well get the orange jumpsuit ready because you’re probably going to prison. That is a bad lawyer.
A good lawyer doesn’t stand before the judge and beg. A good lawyer knows the law. He knows the case. He knows what has already been established. He knows what he has the legal right to present, and he builds his case on something greater than his feelings.
Yet many Christians approach prayer more like the bad lawyer.
“Oh God, please help me. I’m so sick. God, please do something. I don’t know how I’m going to make it. Lord, please help me financially. Everything is falling apart.”
We spend twenty minutes telling God everything that is wrong and call it prayer. We think if we can convince Him that the situation is bad enough, maybe He will finally decide to do something about it.
But what if prayer was never supposed to be about convincing God?
Isaiah 43:26 says,
“Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.”
God says, “Put Me in remembrance.”
Not because God is forgetful. We are. We forget what He has said. We forget what He has already done. We forget the testimonies. We forget His promises. Then circumstances become bigger in our minds than the Word of God, and our prayers begin sounding more like desperation than faith.
God says, “Put Me in remembrance.”
In other words, bring His Word before Him. Talk with Him about what He has said. Set forth your case.
“Father, Your Word says…”
That changes the way you pray.
Instead of only telling God how sick you are, you can come before Him knowing what His Word says about healing. Instead of only talking about the need in front of you, you can remind yourself of His faithfulness and what He has promised. Instead of trying to convince God to become good, you approach Him knowing that He already is good.
God is faithful to His Word. That means we need to know what His Word says. You cannot stand confidently on a promise you don’t know. If you don’t know what God has said about something, then every circumstance, feeling, opinion, and report has an opportunity to tell you what to believe.
This is one reason testimonies are so important.
Revelation 12:11 says,
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
When you hear what God has done for someone else, it reminds you of what He is capable of doing. Their testimony doesn’t replace the Word, but it points you back to the faithfulness of the God who gave the Word.
Years ago, we were ministering in a church where the pastor brought a little boy to me who was almost three years old. The little boy was mute, and they believed he was deaf. He was the pastor’s grandson. We did what James 5 says. We prayed for him and anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord. Then we left. I didn’t feel anything spectacular. There wasn’t some dramatic moment that made me think something had happened. I prayed according to the Word and went on. About a month later, the pastor called me. They had taken that little boy back to have his hearing tested, and the test showed that he had 100 percent hearing. He was progressing and developing like a normal child.
The Word works. That is important to understand because sometimes we think something has to happen emotionally or physically while we are praying before we can believe God heard us. We want to feel something. We want some immediate confirmation that tells us the prayer worked. But faith doesn’t depend on whether you felt anything.
James doesn’t say, “The prayer that produces the strongest feeling will save the sick.” It says: “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”
So what is the prayer of faith?
James already helps us answer that question earlier in his letter.
James 1:6-8 says,
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
At some point, we have to settle what we believe. We cannot spend Monday believing the Word, Tuesday believing our circumstances, Wednesday coming back to the Word, and Thursday deciding maybe none of it works. Faith cannot continually be tossed back and forth depending on what happened that day.
Jesus says in Mark 11:23-24,
“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Notice what Jesus said. “Believe that you have received it.” Faith settles something before the circumstances necessarily show you the answer.
First John 5:14-15 says,
“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”
There is a confidence that comes into prayer when you know the will of God. Where do we discover His will? In His Word. This is why knowing the Bible matters so much. The Word gives you something to stand on when everything around you is moving. It gives you something to bring before God when circumstances are screaming something different. You don’t have to invent His will. You can open His Word and discover what He has said. Then prayer stops being an attempt to talk God into doing something and becomes a conversation built upon what He has already spoken. That kind of prayer produces something in you too.
Peace.
If I really pray, I should come out of that time with greater peace than when I went in. That doesn’t necessarily mean the circumstances changed while I was praying. It means I have brought those circumstances before God, gone back to His Word, and settled again where my confidence belongs.
Philippians 4:6-7 says,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer should move us from anxiety toward peace because prayer brings our attention back to God. This is why James says that if you are suffering, pray. Then he immediately says that if you are cheerful, sing praises. Whether you are facing hardship or experiencing victory, your attention stays on God.
Psalm 103:1-5 says,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
“Forget not all His benefits.”
There it is again.
Isaiah says, “Put Me in remembrance.”
The Psalmist says, “Forget not.”
Maybe one of our greatest problems in prayer is simply that we forget too quickly. We remember the diagnosis but forget the promise. We remember the problem but forget the testimony. We remember what happened yesterday but forget everything God has already brought us through. So put Him in remembrance. Not because God needs reminding, but because you do.
Open your Bible. Find out what God has said about the situation you are facing. Bring His Word into your prayer. Remember what He has already done. Remember the testimonies of His faithfulness. Then ask in faith.
You don’t have to beg a good Father to become good. You don’t have to convince God that His Word is true. You don’t have to manufacture an emotional experience before you can believe He heard you. Know His Word. Believe His Word. Pray His Word. And when you get up from prayer, leave knowing that you have placed your confidence in the One who is faithful to everything He has said.
That is the prayer of faith.
So what are we supposed to do when hardship comes?
James 5:13-15 says,
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”
The Bible gives us a very simple instruction. If you are suffering, pray. If you are sick, call for the elders of the church and let them pray over you. Then James tells us that the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up.
But that brings us to an important question. What does it actually mean to pray?
Imagine for a moment that you were on trial for a crime you didn’t commit, but you had a horrible lawyer representing you. When it was time to present your defense, your lawyer stood up and said, “Judge, this is such a nice person. Please don’t send them to jail. I know this looks really bad, but please have mercy. They don’t deserve this. Please, please let them go.” You might as well get the orange jumpsuit ready because you’re probably going to prison. That is a bad lawyer.
A good lawyer doesn’t stand before the judge and beg. A good lawyer knows the law. He knows the case. He knows what has already been established. He knows what he has the legal right to present, and he builds his case on something greater than his feelings.
Yet many Christians approach prayer more like the bad lawyer.
“Oh God, please help me. I’m so sick. God, please do something. I don’t know how I’m going to make it. Lord, please help me financially. Everything is falling apart.”
We spend twenty minutes telling God everything that is wrong and call it prayer. We think if we can convince Him that the situation is bad enough, maybe He will finally decide to do something about it.
But what if prayer was never supposed to be about convincing God?
Isaiah 43:26 says,
“Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.”
God says, “Put Me in remembrance.”
Not because God is forgetful. We are. We forget what He has said. We forget what He has already done. We forget the testimonies. We forget His promises. Then circumstances become bigger in our minds than the Word of God, and our prayers begin sounding more like desperation than faith.
God says, “Put Me in remembrance.”
In other words, bring His Word before Him. Talk with Him about what He has said. Set forth your case.
“Father, Your Word says…”
That changes the way you pray.
Instead of only telling God how sick you are, you can come before Him knowing what His Word says about healing. Instead of only talking about the need in front of you, you can remind yourself of His faithfulness and what He has promised. Instead of trying to convince God to become good, you approach Him knowing that He already is good.
God is faithful to His Word. That means we need to know what His Word says. You cannot stand confidently on a promise you don’t know. If you don’t know what God has said about something, then every circumstance, feeling, opinion, and report has an opportunity to tell you what to believe.
This is one reason testimonies are so important.
Revelation 12:11 says,
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
When you hear what God has done for someone else, it reminds you of what He is capable of doing. Their testimony doesn’t replace the Word, but it points you back to the faithfulness of the God who gave the Word.
Years ago, we were ministering in a church where the pastor brought a little boy to me who was almost three years old. The little boy was mute, and they believed he was deaf. He was the pastor’s grandson. We did what James 5 says. We prayed for him and anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord. Then we left. I didn’t feel anything spectacular. There wasn’t some dramatic moment that made me think something had happened. I prayed according to the Word and went on. About a month later, the pastor called me. They had taken that little boy back to have his hearing tested, and the test showed that he had 100 percent hearing. He was progressing and developing like a normal child.
The Word works. That is important to understand because sometimes we think something has to happen emotionally or physically while we are praying before we can believe God heard us. We want to feel something. We want some immediate confirmation that tells us the prayer worked. But faith doesn’t depend on whether you felt anything.
James doesn’t say, “The prayer that produces the strongest feeling will save the sick.” It says: “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”
So what is the prayer of faith?
James already helps us answer that question earlier in his letter.
James 1:6-8 says,
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
At some point, we have to settle what we believe. We cannot spend Monday believing the Word, Tuesday believing our circumstances, Wednesday coming back to the Word, and Thursday deciding maybe none of it works. Faith cannot continually be tossed back and forth depending on what happened that day.
Jesus says in Mark 11:23-24,
“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Notice what Jesus said. “Believe that you have received it.” Faith settles something before the circumstances necessarily show you the answer.
First John 5:14-15 says,
“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”
There is a confidence that comes into prayer when you know the will of God. Where do we discover His will? In His Word. This is why knowing the Bible matters so much. The Word gives you something to stand on when everything around you is moving. It gives you something to bring before God when circumstances are screaming something different. You don’t have to invent His will. You can open His Word and discover what He has said. Then prayer stops being an attempt to talk God into doing something and becomes a conversation built upon what He has already spoken. That kind of prayer produces something in you too.
Peace.
If I really pray, I should come out of that time with greater peace than when I went in. That doesn’t necessarily mean the circumstances changed while I was praying. It means I have brought those circumstances before God, gone back to His Word, and settled again where my confidence belongs.
Philippians 4:6-7 says,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer should move us from anxiety toward peace because prayer brings our attention back to God. This is why James says that if you are suffering, pray. Then he immediately says that if you are cheerful, sing praises. Whether you are facing hardship or experiencing victory, your attention stays on God.
Psalm 103:1-5 says,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
“Forget not all His benefits.”
There it is again.
Isaiah says, “Put Me in remembrance.”
The Psalmist says, “Forget not.”
Maybe one of our greatest problems in prayer is simply that we forget too quickly. We remember the diagnosis but forget the promise. We remember the problem but forget the testimony. We remember what happened yesterday but forget everything God has already brought us through. So put Him in remembrance. Not because God needs reminding, but because you do.
Open your Bible. Find out what God has said about the situation you are facing. Bring His Word into your prayer. Remember what He has already done. Remember the testimonies of His faithfulness. Then ask in faith.
You don’t have to beg a good Father to become good. You don’t have to convince God that His Word is true. You don’t have to manufacture an emotional experience before you can believe He heard you. Know His Word. Believe His Word. Pray His Word. And when you get up from prayer, leave knowing that you have placed your confidence in the One who is faithful to everything He has said.
That is the prayer of faith.
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