Lord, teach us to be desperate.

James 5:7-18

Good morning, church!

Go ahead and start turning to James.

So, like I said, we are gearing up to the 40 days of fasting and prayer starting Feb 15th through to March 31st, Easter Sunday.

We are specifically praying for the welfare of the city.

In the past couple of messages, we have been asking the Lord to prepare us for this time of prayer.

We have asked the Lord to prepare our hearts and motives.

We have asked the Lord to teach us to fast.

We have been asking three questions in our personal times.

Lord, what would you have be fast?

Lord, how do you want me specifically to seek the welfare of the city?

Lord, search me, try me, see if there is any grievous ways in me.

Our prayer and topic for today is

Lord, teach us to be desperate in prayer.

James 5:7–18 ESV

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. 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.

Our main verse, however is

James 5:16 (ESV)

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

A couple of things to point out right off the bat.

This word prayer in this verse is not the typically word used in the NT for prayer.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 4667 προσεύχομαι

proseuchomai

This is the word found in the sermon on the mount and Jesus says, “When you pray...” and when the disciples ask, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

This word means to pray. towards. an exchange. Properly it means to exchange wishes. But we will talk more about that another week.

The word used in James 5:16 is

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 1255 δέησις

δέησις (deēsis), εως (eōs), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ Str 1162; TDNT 2.40—LN 33.171 plea, prayer, request, petition (Lk 2:37; Ro 10:1; Eph 6:18; Php 4:6; 1Ti 2:1; 5:5; Heb 5:7; Jas 5:16; 1Pe 3:12)

déēsis (deō, "to be in want, lack"; see the cognate 1189 /déomai, "praying for a specific, felt need") – heart-felt petition, arising out of deep personal need (sense of lack, want).

[1162 (déēsis) ultimately roots back to 1211 /dḗ ("really") which likewise implies a felt need that is personal and urgent (R, 1149).]

The KJV and NKJV calls is effectual and fervent.

This is not a distant request or pray. This is a personal, and emotional plea for a serious and felt need.

There is depth to this prayer. There is heart.

There is desperation and deep need to the prayer that is described in this prayer.

This verse is telling us that when a righteous person, desperately pleads to God with a felt, heart filled prayer, that there is great power in its working!

Or avails much!

Or can accomplish much!

Or very powerful in its effect!

Church, if we are going to spend 40 days in prayer and fasting for the welfare of the city, I believe that the Lord is asking us to pray these kinds of prayers.

I believe He is asking us to pray deep heartfelt, pleas to the Lord on behalf of those in our community that are hurting physically or lost spiritually!

So, of course the prayer for this morning is, Lord, teach us to pray desperate prayers. Fervent prayers.

I believe this morning that there are 3 ways that the Lord can teach us that lesson.

1) Right perspective

The first is through a right perspective.

Over the past year and half, the central focus of our church has been to fix our attention on God and who He is.

Do all that you can do to set your mind on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We have spent majority of our time tearing down false ideas and wrong perspectives of who He truly is and to stop believing the lies of the enemy and what the world tells us about the triune God.

See, a proper perspective of who God truly is will lead to a proper perspective of who you truly are compared to Him!

Its hard to think highly of yourself when you compare yourself to His greatness.

It hard to think that you can figure out this life when you are truly seeing how great He is.

James 4:14 (ESV)

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Psalm 8:4 ESV

what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

These types of mindsets are the fruit of time spent staring into the glory of God.

When we have the right perspective of God, we will stand in awe that He even wants anything to do with us.

Much less love you with a steadfast, patient love.

That He would describe Himself as full of mercy and grace and abounding in steadfast love for you.

We would see Jesus not telling us to get our acts together before coming to Him but we would see Him say, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

With a proper perspective, we will humble ourselves before our mighty God and allow Him to call us His children. To call us redeemed. To call us His new creation. To call us friend.

With a proper perspective, you cannot help but see how desperately you need Him for everything in life and you begin to wonder how you could even try it without Him.

A proper perspective will lead to fervent, desperate prayers for the Lord to intercede in our lives and in our community.

2. Through situations

The second way that the Lord can teach us to pray desperate prayers is through situations in life.

You can think of many situations in the bible about people who prayed desperate prayers in the bible.

How do you think Daniel prayed when they threw him in the lion’s den? Desperately? Heartfelt?

How did Jesus pray in the garden of Gethsemine when He was staring at the cross? Did He plea? Did He cry out?

There was a lady in 1 Samuel named Hannah and she was in a deperate situation. She couldn’t have children and she was being harassed and cast out because of it.

She went to the temple and prayed.

1 Samuel 1:10 “She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.”

She was praying so desperately about her situation that the priest thought she was drunk on wine.

Her response to him is 1 Samuel 1:15–16 “But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.””

The Lord responded with 1 Samuel 1:17 “Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.””

Hannah prayed out of the deep desperation of her situation. She called out with all of her heart. and the Lord heard her prayer and granted her request. And her son was Samuel, the one who anointed the heads of the kings of Israel.

There are many in our community that have been praying desperate prayers because of their situation without water.

James tells us in our passage to be patient. Like the farmers who have to wait for their precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it.

Verse 8 tells us to establish our hearts, meaning don’t be weak in heart. Stay strong, for the coming of the Lord and His answer to your prayers is at hand. Its coming.

Verse 11 says that you will be blessed if you remain steadfast. If you resolve to trust Him. If you are patient for the Lord to answer.

Verse 11 tells you to look to His word and all of the many stories in the Bible and you will see His purpose for your situation. And you will see how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

So, if you are currently in a desperate situation or could be heading into one soon.

Don’t be afraid to pray desperate prayers. Don’t be afraid to, like Hannah, pray deeply distressed, speaking out of your great anxiety and weeping bitterly.

For the heart-felt, desperate, pleas to the Lord avails much, and has much power in its working.

3. By witnessing desperate situations

The last way that the Lord can teach us to pray desperate prayers is by witnessing desperate situations.

Matthew 9:35–38 ESV

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

I believe Jesus saw all of those who were hurting, harassed, helpless and struggling and it moved His heart to compassion.

He said they were wondering through life without a guide and shepherd to comfort them, to lead them beside still waters.

His heart was moved with compassion and I don’t think He said what He said the way we often think He says what He says.

Amen?

What I mean is, we often think Jesus talks like this

(Stoic reading)

When more than liking He was talking like this.

(Compassionate heartfelt)

He even instructs His disciples to pray (James word for prayer) earnestly, with heart-felt pleas to the Lord of the harvest to send out worker to help those who are wondering and suffering without the Great Shepherd, Jesus.

Sometimes the Lord teaches us to pray desperate prayers after allowing us to see desperation.

I was trying to think of a story to share with you that the Lord has allowed me to see desperate situations.

I think about a lady that I have met twice this week whose father is on hospice care, her mother isn’t in good health and her husband just had a stroke. She is desperately trying to take care of them all without water right now.

I think about the man who reached out for me to take his hand at RFD one week when I asked him how he was doing today. He reached out his hand and asked me to pray for him because he was eat up with cancer and was in pain everywhere. I prayed a desperate prayer.

I think about the kids in the foster care system that we have interacted with at the Wrap Closet. How this one kid, only Jennifer could get to calm down and eat his food.

I think about the most heartfelt and desperate prayer that I have ever heard in my life was a prayer right down here for a brother that was in a desperate situation.

I think about a little boy in Albania who was trying to help me pour water for kids and he was getting punched and kicked trying to offer water to kids from another group. I prayed a desperate prayer for him.

Some of you have a family member, a child that is running from the Lord or from you. You are seeing them lead a life that is crumbling all around them. And you pray desperate prayers for them.

Church, people all around us are hurting, wondering like sheep without a shepherd, lost and destined for an eternity separated from God.

And if you stay in your Christian bubble, only around those who see things the way that you do, then you may never get to pray desperate, heart-felt, passionate pleas to the Lord.

You may never get to see the great power of your prayer in its working.

Church, I am pleading with you to get out of your safe places and get into the world. Be in the world but not of the world.

Get around those who have need and offer some fervent prayers to the Lord.

The harvest right here is Giles County is great, but the laborers are few.

In closing, we can not ignore a key word in verse 16

The prayers of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

What does that mean and why is the word there?

The means not a perfect person. It means a person that is actively pursuing their relationship with Christ and confessing and repenting of sin. Verse 16 tells us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another.

Its a life of building relationships with God and with others. Its a life killing sin and pursuing holy living. Its not a life of perfection, its a life of pursuit.

When we are walking with the Lord and when we are in an intimate relationship with Him. Then guess what, He will begin instructing you what to pray in those desperate situations.

James talks about Elijah, a man with a sinful nature like us, prayed that it would stop raining for 3.5 years and it did. After that, He prayed that it would start raining again, and guess what, it did. He prayed and the working out of his prayers were powerful.

But guess what? Go back and read it. The Lord told Him to pray those prayers.

He was a righteous man that walked with the Lord and prayed prayers that the Lord asked him to pray and the working out of those prayers was powerful but… It was the Lord’s will.

The prayers of a righteous are powerful because they come from the heart of God. Because they align with the will of God.

One of the most powerful prayer people I know, starts her prayers with Lord, what do you want me to pray?

In closing, I believe the Lord is asking us for 40 days to pray desperate prayers for the welfare of our city.

It starts with proper perspective of who God is and who we are compared to Him. How apart from the vine, we can do nothing.

Or maybe you are in a desperate situation. And your pleas are from a place of anxiety and vexation.

Or maybe the Lord is challenging you to get out of your Christian bubble and see the faces of those hurting in the community.

Would you pray with me to ask the Lord to help us pray desperate prayers for the welfare of the city?