Effectiveness of Prayer

I want to carry over Dad’s last week’s preaching of “Praying in the Spirit”, anchoring to James 5:16, “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working”.

James 5:13–20 ESV

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, 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 heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Righteousness)

Generally speaking, in relation to God, “righteousness” can refer to a divine attribute or to a divine activity, while in relation to human subjects, “righteousness” primarily denotes a legal and social status or a moral state.

Righteousness is to characterize God’s people. The Hebrew word used in these passages is tsedeq, correctly translated as “rightness” or “righteousness.”

Righteousness (tzedekah) literally means “right relationship,” so it’s a quality that varies based on context. It would appear that tsdq is associated with a web of concepts related to normativity and legitimacy, yet it is social and covenantal relationships that provide the norm itself.

For example, righteousness between a boss and employee will look different than righteousness between a mother and child—the relationships are different. So choices that would be seen as wrong or against the law in some settings can be seen as righteous in others.

Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham believed the Lord and God counted it to him as righteousness.

And this was before the Torah was formally given to Israel.

Dad shared to us last week about “Praying in the Spirit begins with our relational union with God.”

Biblical “righteousness” is a relational term that in its core meaning is “standard of right relationships”.

A “righteous person” is someone who is committed to doing the will of God and to cultivating a right relationship with Him.

So in James 5:13-20 James the brother of Jesus encourages us to:

1. Pray in all circumstances. (v13-14)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Luke 18:1-8 “1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?””

Being dependent on God will enable us to move easily into biblical prayer on all occasions, great and small, grim and joyous, in sickness and in health.

2. Pray in faith. (v15)

There is no basis in Scripture for the popular idea that praying in faith means praying with confidence that something will happen just because we pray (cf. 1:5-6; 2 Cor. 12:7-10) …

A prayer which expresses faithfulness and trust in God, flows out of commitment to Him.

In one sense, all Christians are “righteous” (dikaios) in that we are justified before God through Christ. But the Greek word “dikaios” can also refer to practical and visible godly behaviour (e.g., Matt. 1:19), as it seems to here. In other words...

Those who earnestly live their lives in “believing loyalty” to Jesus can expect to see a powerful response to their petitions. (Matthew 17:19–20; 1 John 3:22

because their righteousness is dependent / grounded on God’s right relation to us through Jesus Christ. But when we see God’s will as a “nice to have” in our lives – “I don’t have to prioritise my relationship with God through carrying out His will in the lives of others”...

It simply becomes a self-moralistic standard when we divert from having the "right relationship" with God and/or people.

The Torah (the law) intends to form wise and just individuals who will act in the interests of the oppressed and vulnerable as God’s ambassadors.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 “23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.””

Matthew 6:1-5 “1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Matthew 23:1-4 “1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.”

Jesus makes a point in these passages it is hypocritical to practice righteous empty of a relational union with God and people – our actions no longer bears the image of God’s righteous character, one no longer prays in faith – “sacrifice of fools”...

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 “1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”

The effectiveness of our prayer is not on the basis in our confidence of what we declare because it can be flawed when we are hasty BUT our confidence is in Jesus who is our high priest...

Hebrews 4:14-16 “14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

3. Pray in seeing God’s kingdom and His righteousness. (v16-20)

James attributes a powerful prayer on the basis of God’s will to accomplish the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – God’s kingdom advancing on Earth when people are taken out of the kingdom of darkness by believing they can be made righteous through Jesus Christ alone.

Romans 5:1-2 “1 Therefore, since we have been justified (made righteous) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Grace and mercy is abundant in the kingdom of God because it is lived out by people who are in relational union with God.

James kinda repurposes part of 1 Kings 17-18 when Elijah prayed for rain to stop and start. Elijah was “a man with a nature like ours.” In other words, Elijah was a sinner like us, with his own failings and weaknesses, and yet through his prayer the Lord did mighty things. Being an ordinary person is a good thing – it makes room in our lives for God to be God.

2 Corinthians 4:7 “7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

The power of the gospel of Jesus comes to full circle when we not only share it to others but when also fervently pray for others that the Spirit of God would open their minds and hearts to believe in Jesus.

James illustrates the power that resulted in Elijah’s prayer of “signs and wonders” is the same power when we pray for “kingdom living” where God’s power breathes life to people, taking them out of the kingdom of darkness, calling them to a relational union with the exalted King Jesus - in other words, when we share the gospel and pray for them.

In James 5:18 the “righteous man” is the person who has confessed his sins and has received forgiveness from God.

We are ought to align our joyous excitement when the ministry of reconciliation is lived out and testified among us just as we probably would also be excited when God performs “signs and wonders”.

We are fellow workers in God’s kingdom so we are ought to always pray in faith to see it come.

The effectiveness of prayer is anchored in one’s relational union with God through the redemptive work ofJesus Christ, earnestly praying in faith and empowered by the Spirit to do acts of righteousness based on the way Jesus lived.

(I don’t wanna know what God is not doing, I wanna know what God is doing)

Our mind and heart aligns to God’s will when we make this a valued part of our petition.

identity is based on God calling us “righteous” and by extension of that identity, we are ought to live our lives based on the character of the one who called us “righteous”

God’s kingdom = God’s salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

God’s righteousness = One can expect sincere reconciliation when it’s founded on how God gifted us a “right relationship” with Him.

Matthew 12:1–13 ESV

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” 9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary Effective Prayer

Here’s a guy who’s just like me. One minute he’s up on the mountain; the next minute he’s in a cave. One minute, he’s victorious over Baal; the next minute, he’s done in by despair. Yet James refers to Elijah as a righteous man. Why? Because in the New Testament particularly, righteousness is not dependent upon the way we behave. It is dependent upon what we believe.

How do I know this?

In Romans 4, Paul reaches back through the tunnel of time and grabs a name for our consideration: Abraham. Simply because Abraham believed God would do what He said He would, that God is who He declared Himself to be, Abraham was declared righteous (Romans 4:3).

Do you believe God? Do you believe the foundational fact of faith—that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the Cross for your sin and after three days rose again? Do you believe He is your Savior? If so, you are righteous.

Careful reading of James 5:13-20 communicates the root concept of righteousness which is “right relationship”.

When we come to pray together, it is not just about doing things right (saying the right words) but it is about

We pray because we are found having the right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and in whom, has the power to graciously give the answers to our petitions. (Heb 4:14-16)

We pray because we have been called into a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

We pray because of our right relationship with

James describes an effective prayer is when God

We are ought to believe that

1 John 2:28-29 “28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”

do but on the basis on

Jesus implies in these passages about being a servant to all, “how do I make my responsibility the problem of others?”

When us followers of Jesus confess in our prayers sinful attitudes and wrongful behavior and turn to the Lord, the result is forgiveness and restoration and, in specific cases in which sickness is the result of a particular sin, there can be physical healing.

Knowing the will of God is the sure foundation for effective prayer [1 John 5:14].

James 4:3 “3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

Jesus taught us not to worry about the same cares of the world but instead to pursue His kingdom and His righteousness.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 2

2:28 whenever he is revealed John desires for the believers to be found doing Jesus’ work at Christ’s second coming.

Honor and shame were major cultural motivators in the first century and were foundational principles to Graeco-Roman society (compare John 3:23).

2:29 practices righteousness Those who do wrong by others reveal themselves to not be in right relationship with God. A person’s actions should be the first measure of whether they are in relationship with God.

fathered by him Believers in Jesus are adopted into God’s family (compare note on Eph 1:5).

Romans 3:21-26 “21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Just as how God revealed His righteousness through the Torah, God himself testified—righteousness—does not depend on doing the requirements of the law BUT through faith in Jesus Christ (His death and resurrection), which puts a person in right relationship with Him.

When James admonishes

Elijah praying for it not to rain = drought – do justice that benefits the vulnerable and needy. But the world roots justice to benefit selfishly, not so much to help the vulnerable and needy. The world equates justice with vengeance.

praying to rain = fruitfulness – practice

Psalms 82:3 “3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.”

Isaiah 1:17 “17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

Proverbs 31:8-9 “8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Matthew 25:34-36 “34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’”