The True Power of the Saints Pt. 1

James 5:13–20 ESV

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. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 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. 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. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 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.

Introduction

We are back in the letter of James, examining its last few verses. We began this book in January of 2020 and now we’ve finally reached the end. When I chose this letter to be the first book of the New Testament to preach through, I had it in my mind that it would be simple. It would be easy to move through James, right? It’s a bunch of practical advice, and it’s structured like a bunch of different sermonettes—a New Testament proverbs—conveniently laid out. As is always the case, I received a sharp reality check on the towering nature of even the smallest parts of God’s Word.

This is similar to the main issue that James addresses in his letter. A failure to grasp the depth of the Christian life. God’s people were not taking him, his word, or their faith, seriously. In the first chapter, the readers are described as being “double-minded.” He explained that “if any of you lack wisdom,” you should “ask God, who gives generously.”

James 1:6–8 ESV

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.

This idea of a double-minded person resonates throughout the entire letter. James gives example after example of how this double-mindedness was actually being played out.

When you take the letter as a whole, you see that James, like most of the other New Testament letters, is urging believers to actually walk the path they say they are on. He does this by teaching us theology, exposing our hypocrisy, and encouraging us with the Gospel. He explains truth (theology), demonstrates how we may be wandering from it (hypocrisy), and points us back to the trail—back to the Father and his son, Jesus Christ (Gospel).

We are now at the end of the letter, and the ending of anything always grabs our attention. Whether that’s a song, book, movie, or a sermon, the ending always pulls in our attention in a unique way. Sometimes, endings confuse us: “Why end that way? What was the purpose of that ending? What was it saying?” The ending of James may confuse us.

But, it was the ending God intended, and it’s the ending James felt it needed; therefore, we should take special notice. Whatever is in this ending, it isn’t simply the end to a rambling discourse. No, it is the purposeful ending to an overarching letter of instruction and exhortation. And to sum this ending up in one word, the final word from James is on prayer.

This is the true power of the saints: prayer. The thing that ought to naturally emanate from every part of the Christian life is prayer. The number one “work” of the Christian (in a sense) is to pray. Our Plan A for making any changes or doing anything in life—big or small— ought to be: prayer.

Interestingly, the main religious practice of humanity is prayer, in some shape or form. This goes directly opposite to what our fallen nature wants (which is works)… how odd is that? Fallen humanity is a contradiction: we want to either control God or be God, yet, at every turn, we pray (a dependent action) a million different ways. This is the extreme double-mindedness of the lost, but it is also the double-mindedness that affects the saved, as well. How would this look in a Christian’s life?

To know the Father, but not speak with him is Christian double-mindedness.

To be united to the Son, and yet speak only occasionally with him is Christian double-mindedness.

To be indwelt by the Spirit, and refuse the power he gives us is Christian double-mindedness.

Each of these things are realities for every Christian—knowing the Father, united to the Son, and indwelt by the Spirit—and they are most enjoyed through prayer. In fact, the darkest Christian life is still a sweet one when it is overflowing with prayer. This is the true power of the saints.

God, through James, explains it to us in this way.

Prayer as Constant

First, “Prayer as Constant.” That is, prayer that endures through the highs and lows of life.

James 5:13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”

He begins the end with the same thing he opened with: suffering. This is very much James’ style; he doesn’t mess around with irrelevant or fluffy talk. He cuts straight to the chase. “Is anyone suffering? Let them pray.”

I think that every human being who lived to experience hard times knows this impulse. Praying during hard times is probably the #1 cause of prayer. We understand this, and we understand what he says after it. “If you’re cheerful, sing praise.” His point is this: seek God regardless of how life is going. When things are going great, and your every material need is met, first see that it is true, give thanks for it, and praise his name in song and prayer. Let’s park on that for a moment.

We’re going to do a little Greek, here.

ψάλλο: psallo, “sing to God”

ψαλμός: psalmos, “song of praise”

The word for “praise” is the Greek word psallo, which is related to the word psalm.

James 5:13 (ESV)

… Is anyone cheerful? Let him [psalleto] sing praise.”

Suffering? Pray.

Cheerful? Sing.

Where in the Bible do we find prayers that double as songs, and has a name suspiciously like that Greek word we just looked at?

The Book of Psalms.

And is the Psalter all happy or all sad? No, it’s both. This, also, teaches us something about prayer and life in general. Mainly, that we’re going to have some amount of suffering and cheerfulness, and we ought to be praying throughout all of it. It should be the natural, constant practice of the Christian.

Praying to God should be natural and constant like interacting with our spouse. In a marriage, a man and woman become one flesh, and vow, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, to have and to hold each other. All of married life flows out of this intimacy. When we are saved by the grace of God, we are united to Christ in a similar manner. He is the bridegroom, and we, the church, are the bride. He is the door to heaven and the voice of the Father. He speaks to us through his word, and we speak to him through prayer.

This is the True Power of the Saints: constant prayer. We are actually communing with the creator of the universe; he hears our prayers and, in a sense, acts upon those prayers. There’s never a time when it’s not good to pray.

Psalm 66:19–20 ESV

But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

The power of prayer, in my opinion, doesn’t start with whether or not it is answered with a “yes.” The power of prayer, its true power, is in the sublime fact that God listens to us in the first place. And not just listens..

Proverbs 15:8 (LSB)

… the prayer of the upright is His delight.

Knowing this, how could we be satisfied with anything less than a constant conversation with our Creator and Redeemer?

Prayer as Cure

Next, “Prayer as Cure.”

James 5:14–15 “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. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

This topic could, and should, be a whole sermon series on its own. In our day, the topic of supernatural healing related to prayer and ministry is one that is seriously misunderstood. Fatally misunderstood, in some situations. I want to start by saying what this verse is not teaching.

My step-grandfather, Dennis, who raised my dad, was diagnosed with lung cancer a few years before I was born. He passed away very close to it, actually. Identifying as a Christian family, they attended at least one so-called “revival.” During this event, people from the event learned that Dennis had lung cancer, and it was communicated to him, somehow, that he would eventually be healed. It’s almost definitely more complex than this, but in some sense, Dennis refused certain treatments because he believed this promise. And to pursue other treatments was, supposedly, an expression of a lack of faith — of unbelief. He would die of his lung cancer and I would bear a middle name in his memory.

Stories of wicked abuse such as this could be told until our nausea couldn’t bear it. I want to give you one more, that I found on Kenneth Copeland’s Youtube channel this week. Dated Apr 30, 2022, Copeland began a message with a testimony from one of the elders at his church. This is what he said:

“… the last couple of weeks you've been teaching about the healing Ministry of Jesus and how important it is for you and for us to go out and minister that healing…

And one of the things that you said last week, you said, I always keep my bottle of anointing oil with me all the time in my Bible case… Well, when I hear that, to me that means aha, I need to do the same thing. there's a local car wash that we like to get our car washed all the time. And they have a dear, dear man who is a shoeshine. He's good too, Richard. Well, I walk in one day and I walk around the counter and Richard spots me. He says, Hey, Preacher. And I said, Yes, sir. He said, You got any of that blessing oil with you? He knew Blessing oil. I said, Well, yes, sir, I do.

He said, Good. He said, I was reading over there in the book James, the other day, and I saw where the elders of the church can lay hands on people, anoint them with oil, and they'd get healed. Well, I've been having this head congestion in my head for days and I need healing. And that book says that I can have it.

You're not getting out of here today until you put that blessing oil on me and pray, because I'm gonna get my healing! Well, that's where his faith was: it was in that oil. What if I hadn't had it with me? So as Kenneth Hagin used to say, I did, He did and God did, and he was healed on the spot. Just completely clear.”

Where do we start with this? From the first sentence to the last, this testimony gets James 5:14 exactly backwards. 100% the opposite of what it is saying.

Was the man sick? He had a cold. Sure, we should pray for that, but is that what James is talking about?

Did this occur in a local church context? No, it was one “elder”, out in the community, wielding what he believes to be an on-demand healing power to anyone who has enough faith.

What were both of these men most concerned about? The oil. Not the grace and good pleasure of God; not his honor and purposes in our lives… they were concerned about some dumb, powerless oil.

Everything that is wrong in our country regarding faith healing, charismatic gifts, and the like, is conveniently summarized in this tragic and sobering scene: a prayer of faith, not in God, but in man and his oily idols.

This is not what James, the New Testament, or the Old Testament, teaches about supernatural healing.

If I claim what that teaching is not, I should then say what it actually is.

We can summarize with a few simple statements.

God is sovereign over absolutely everything in the universe. (Romans 11:36)

Death entered into, and remains in, this world because of sin. (Romans 5:12)

Like #2, sickness affects everyone in this broken world. (Ecc 5:17)

Some specific illnesses are a result of specific sins. (1 Cor 11:30)

The choice, responsibility, and power to heal is God’s alone. (Ps 103:2-3)

Sickness, injuries, and illnesses ought to be prayed for. (Php 4:6)

Zooming back into our text.

The ministry of the Apostles ceased with their deaths. (Acts 1:21-22)

James was an apostle (Gal 1:9).

Anointing oil was an apostolic practice. (Mk 6:13)

Conclusion: this command was for them, and then for us.

James was calling the early, apostolic church (and all that was still active, then) to engage in a specific activity. What we’re seeing here is, first, healing for them in that context, and then healing for us in our context.

James 5:15 “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.”

This is what healing is all about. The vast majority of incidents where the Lord Jesus healed someone, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, include either Jesus declaring their sins to be forgiven, or the person being healed worshipping him as the Christ. Either way, and even with the healings that don’t mention the person’s reaction at all, the point of all sickness, health, and supernatural healing is to point us to our need of eternal health: life through the Savior.

James speaks, here, of both physical healing and spiritual salvation. On any deathbed, what, really, is that person’s greatest need? It’s to know Jesus. It’s to come to him in faith, repent of our sickness, and trust in him for salvation. To be fascinated with physical healing over spiritual life is to collect pebbles when diamonds are raining. For the truth of the matter is this: even in the apostolic era, not everyone was healed. Paul, himself, laments his thorn in the flesh, and prayed that God would take it away.

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Whatever pain Paul experienced, after praying, it was so far down his priority list that it became something to boast about, that the power of Christ worked in him through that pain. How can we be like Paul, and understand how best to react to sickness in our lives, and the lives of those we love? By bringing these things to God in prayer. Be seeking the prayer and support of our church family. And, yes, calling upon the elders. Everything I’ve said about the specifics of anointing oil and apostolic ministry is to respond to the idea that “the way they did healing is the same way we should.”

Should we pray for healing? Yes.

Should elders pray for healing? Absolutely.

Should we use oil? It isn’t required, and probably isn’t helpful.

Why do you say that? Because the ministry of the apostles ceased with their deaths, including their use of oil.

If you really want oil of some kind involved in the laying on of hands, maybe we can figure something out. We just need to understand, the oil is not where the healing power is. All the power to heal rests entirely in the hands of our good and gracious King, and he ought to have every ounce of our trust when it comes to healing — whether the answer to that prayer is “yes” or “no.”

Conclusion

When we talk about power, prayer, and all these things — I ask the question: who is more powerful? A man like Elijah, who we’ll talk about next time, who prayed to bring down fire and control the weather for three and a half years—or that believer in the pew whose body is being consumed by cancer, but clings to God through faith?

Whose faith is more “powerful”?

Is it Elijah, who prayed to God to let him die because of how dark and evil the world was?

Or the Christian who carries their cancerous cross to the grave with prayer and praise upon their lips?

If I could be a fraction of either of these examples, I would be a far better man. That’s the faith we should want. That’s the trust in my Lord I desire. And if you or I ever want to walk closer with Jesus in this life, the first thing we ought to do is get down on our knees, daily, and crack open the vault of treasure that is waiting: communing with our God in prayer.

I’m going to end with a quote from Sam Allberry.

“In and of itself, this is a point we need to remember. Many of us do not pray as we should, and one of the reasons for this is that we do not believe our prayers will make much of a difference. Deep down, we don’t think they will change anything. And so prayer can become just a token thing, a gesture to others, a way of checking in with God without really expecting anything major to happen. At a key point in the letter James told his readers: “You do not have because you do not ask God” (4:2). Prayer makes a difference. Your prayer makes a difference.

One of the most successful advertising campaigns of recent years came from a regional airline in the US during the run-up to Christmas. They set up a “virtual Santa” in the departure lounge of a domestic flight. Passengers would scan their boarding pass, activating a screen featuring Santa (located somewhere else and with access to their flight details), who would then ask them what they wanted for Christmas before sending them on their way. Unknown to the passengers, employees from the airline then went out to local malls to purchase and wrap the very things the passengers had asked for—everything from new socks to a widescreen TV. When the passengers arrived at their destination, their gifts arrived along with their luggage at the baggage belt. Many stood in disbelief when they realised what had happened. Needless to say, the video recording their reactions went viral, providing the airline with way more publicity and goodwill than a standard commercial would have generated.

But after the warm glow from watching it subsided, I had one thought in my mind: The guy who only asked for socks must be kicking himself. Once he’d realised what had happened, surrounded by people with expensive cameras and tablets, he must have felt a little foolish clutching a pair of socks. If only he had known. If only he had asked.

James does not want us to make the same mistake. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. It is real. Things actually happen. God answers. How foolish we are not to pray far more than we do. How foolish, at the end of the day, aware of all that we could have had, to be left clutching the equivalent of a pair of socks that we never even realised we would get.”

God’s ear is inclined this very moment toward us, brothers and sisters. It will never move. He will always listen, though we fail to speak. Let us speak to him, now, together.