READ: LUKE 11:1-13; HEBREWS 4:14-16; JAMES 5:13-16

Have you ever wanted to help someone who was struggling, but you didn’t know what to do? There is always something you can do, even when you feel like you have nothing to give. When you have nothing else, you can still do the most important thing, and that is to pray. When a friend or family member is going through a difficult situation and you aren’t sure how you can offer to help, you can pray for them. When you see someone struggling financially and you don’t have much money to offer, or when they need some other kind of help that you can’t give them, you can pray for them.

Throughout the Bible, God calls us to lift each other up in prayer. He hears our prayers and is ready to help. Sometimes, we feel like we’re doing nothing when all we can do is pray, but James 5:16 says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power.” Who is a righteous person? Well, none of us can be righteous (or sinless) on our own, but God loves us so much that He gives us His righteousness and forgives all our sins when we put our trust in Jesus (Romans 3:10, 22). So, even though we will continue to struggle with sin until Jesus returns and makes all things new, we can “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Whenever you encounter a difficult situation, whether in your own life or someone else’s, you can take it to God. Prayer is powerful because God is the all-powerful One. He loves you deeply, and He wants to help you with whatever you’re facing. • Bethany Acker

• Christians throughout history have prayed to God when they needed help, and God has answered their prayers. Sometimes God responds in the way we expect, or He might respond in a different way. When we pray, God not only changes situations, but He also changes us. As we come to Him with our struggles and concerns, we grow in our faith. We get to know God better, we come to trust Him more, and we start seeing things the way He does. Can you think of anyone who’s struggling right now? Are you struggling? Consider taking a moment to pray about anything that comes to mind. If you’re not sure what to pray, you can follow a prayer from the Bible, like Numbers 6:24-26, Luke 11:1-4, Ephesians 3:14-21, or Philippians 1:9-11.

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 1 John 5:14 (NLT)