James 5:16, KJV: Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

What do you say to someone who is suffering in some way you cannot relate to? What do you tell someone who is terribly ill, or hurting? How do you help him or her through the bad times? There are times when encouraging someone to trust God, or quoting an applicable scripture doesn't bring comfort at all. And familiar clichés are certainly out of the question. Sometimes it is best to say nothing at all, but simply to be there. Though we may with the right heart and for the right reasons, say all the right things, we cannot expect our words to become a miracle cure. Instead, it is often that our ministry to another will be more like bandages and ointments on a wound--requiring attention as well as times of silent healing. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."