Let's Pray
Notes
Transcript
Wrapping up James
Last week was about being patient through challenging times
James wraps up his letter by encouraging people to pray.
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.
The breadth of the human experience should draw us back to God.
Are you sad? Miserable? In pain physically, emotionally, spiritually? Pray and lean into God for healing and hope.
Are you doing well? Are there things to celebrate? Give thanks to God!
Is it a Monday, but there’s coffee in the pot? Praise God and trust Him for that day.
Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
This walk of faith requires us to trust in God in all things. During the difficult and trying times AND in the good times.
We shouldn’t only seek God when we think we “need” Him.
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
One thing in life we all struggle with is illness. Whether it is we who are sick, or a loved one, pretty well all of us deal with illnesses.
James is not suggesting that people ignore medical help!
He’s saying that we are to come together and lift one another in prayer.
And when someone is very sick, we should set them apart (anointing with oil) for special prayer.
Also notice “elders” is plural. If possible it should be 2 or 3 people going to pray - although that’s not always possible.
And in context with the rest of scripture, this is not a direct promise that EVERY illness will be healed by God.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
We need to trust God - and that’s the prayer offered in faith - that it is His will, not our will that we want done.
back to James slide
And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Not all illness is due to sin, but the bible tells us that some can be (and some sin can even cause death).
James tells us that our sin, if it led to the illness, will be forgiven.
And then he goes on to say...
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
We shouldn’t only confess to those we sin against, though we ought to.
There’s definitely something to confessing our sins to those trusted believers around us.
Accountability partners - we should all have some.
And James here tells us that the prayer of those who walk closely with God can expect miraculous results. (have powerful effect)
This is true even outside of illness - and all the more reason for us to be praying with one another!
And I can tell you that when I thought God messed up (or really others got in the way of God’s work...) that later on I could see how God worked through those situations in amazing ways.
Keep walking closely with God, even, and especially, when it gets rough.
Example of powerful prayer -
Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
This is from 1 Kings 17 & 18
Ahab is ruling in Israel, takes Jezebel as his wife, and leads the people to worship Ba’al.
As you can imagine, God doesn’t like that....
So he tells Elijah to pronounce this drought… and he does. And thigs get BAD...
So bad that the famine was killing lots of people - sadly our sins can impact others...
Then after 3 years God speaks to Elijah again and tells him to confront Ahab and that He will bring the rain back.
So he does… in the typical dramatic fashion. He has a point to make.
Being the sole remaining prophet and one standing for God (at least publicly), he taunts the 450 prophets of Ba’al. Challenging them to see which God will accept and burn up the offering of a bull.
He lets them go first.
And after some time, he even mocks them… Maybe you need to be louder, he might be using the bathroom or maybe he’s sleeping.
Then after they failed he took 12 stones and built an alter to the Lord.
He dug a trench around it and asked the people to fill 4 jars with water and pour it on the wood and the bull.
He had them do this 3 times, until everything was good and soaked (and there was standing water).
And after he prayed, God sent fire from heaven (maybe lightning) and it burned it all up!
Then he went and prayed on Mount Carmel and prayed...and the rain came.
Follow God and expect God is doing great things!
My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
People have a tendency to love God when the first encounter Him, but after time many walk away.
This shouldn’t be a surprise, Jesus told parables about this (especially the Parable of the Sower)
Keep praying for them, love on them, encourage them...
Hell isn’t something we should wish on our worst enemy.
We’re all image bearers of God, and we should pray for those who have fallen away.
James Recap
James Recap
James shows us how to live the life - or walk the walk - of the Christian faith.
Watch what you say, be honest, don’t seek power for power’s sake - it won’t end well...
Take care of those less fortunate - and keep in mind, there are always those who have it worse off than you.
Just like there’s always someone stronger or better, there’s also those who have it worse.
Persevere - this journey is NOT for the faint of heart. But the good thing about that is that God is with you. You don’t walk alone.
Don’t walk alone! This is a community effort. Sure, salvation is between you and God, but we are meant to do this together.
God often sends miracles in the way of people. YOU are the blessing someone is praying for!
Be excellent to each another.
Stop the backstabbing, stop the bickering, and start lifting one another up.
Don’t just talk about your faith, live it. The world should see by your life that you live for Jesus, not just hear about it.
And be in prayer. Ask God for wisdom, ask God for guidance, ask God for help.
When He gives you something, go with it!
Yes, test the spirit (check the scriptures), and if it doesn’t go against God’s character or Word, Go and Do!
Worship Team
I hope and pray you got some good things out of this journey through James. There is so much in this letter that can help shape our walk with God and walk with others.
Yes, at times it can be a rough one to read as you’re likely to feel convicted. But conviction isn’t bad, it simply means were not in perfection yet and that we’re human.
Continue to lean in to God, and trust the path He has for you.
Pray -
Father God, we thank you for who you are. We thank you for what you’re doing in our lives and throughout Central Community Church of God and in All God’s Children. We ask that you continue to direct our path. Help us to control our speech, to lift others up, to persevere when the going gets tough, and to be a blessing to those around us even when we’re hurting too. Give us grace and bless us as we walk with you.
In Jesus’s name we pray, amen.
