One of the great prayer warriors of the New Testament Church is James. In fact, it is said of James that he was given the name “Camel Knees” because he spent so much time in prayer. So, when James addresses the subject of prayer in Chapter 5:13-18 he speaks from personal experience and discipline.
Hegesippus, who lived immediately after the apostles, gives the most accurate account in the fifth book of his Memoirs. He writes as follows: [James] “alone was permitted to enter into the holy place; for he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of entering alone into the temple and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people.”
From his discipline and devotion to prayer, James was called “camel knees,” and because of his excessive righteousness, he was called “James the Just.”
It has been said that prayer is the key to unlocking God’s prevailing power in your life. Without question, when trials and difficulties come in life, the greatest thing we can do is pray. That is what we will discover in James 5:13-15 as we learn from James, that when life happens, pray.