Effective Prayer

James 5:13ff LSB

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit. My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Main Point: You must pray at all times.

Immediate context: Final point of James — pray

Introduction: Why pray

Through the letter, James has been encouraging and instructing believers in the various trials that they are to face that God uses to prove their faith and strengthening it. It is a wonder that He achieves both tempering and proofing that faith like a blacksmithing bending steel because he knows that steel can bend, and when folded several times comes out stronger. Therein lies the essence of the trials, it is God who works as Paul also puts it in Phil 2:13. James even starts his letter with the encouragement to seek wisdom from God if he knows he lacks it, which all men to an extent is in need of (James 1:5).

In these trials we have seen that without the “good and … perfect gift [of wisdom and grace]” from the “Father of lights” we will be deceived. That good deeds without love “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction” but are not “unstained from the world” are worthless. That good deeds without love for brethren will “show partiality … [and] blaspheme the honorable name by which [we] were called”. That confessions of faith without proof “[cannot] … save him”, hence “faith apart from works is dead”. That unscrupulous speech apart from faithfully proven confessions of faith “[stains] the whole body, [sets] on fire the entire course of life … set on fire by hell”. That selfish ambitious planning is worldly as is the boasting of such, for God is above it all, “who is able to save and to destroy”. Without God we inevitably fail. Without His guidance we fall face first into pitfalls that litter this earthly road. But praise God that this is not a trail trekked solo. In suffering and in abudance, James reminds us that we are to deal consciously as one before God. All of this taken at face value is impossible for man to do perfectly simultaneously but as the Lord said “all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).

So what are we to do then?

James never failed to remind us that God is ever present in these trials. Having laid out the trials and his encouragement on what to do for each, he ends his letter with a reminder to pray.

Looking through world-tinted glasses, we promptly think “What’s prayer got to do with these things?” “He already told me what to do and what not to do, what to feel and what not to feel. Aren’t I supposed to do just that?” Remember, the world is a human-centered one. It exalts self-made men and women, and mocks those who they deem “so weak they had to use others as crutches”. Nepotism is one thing that we also frown upon nowadays. “You can’t reach where you are now if not for your rich parents, connections, etc.”

But isn’t that true of us believers? That we are nothing if not for God?

Paul in writing to the Philippians deemed everything as rubbish, trash, decaying matter when lined up with the worth of knowing Christ as Lord. (Phil3:8) Do we say the same regularly? Do we treat our own actions, achievements as worthless for the sake of Christ? Do we really treat Him and the joy of knowing Him as our non-negotiable for life? No Christ, no life — Know Christ, know life?

That’s why James was ending his letter with the solid truth that we are to be completely reliant on God in prayer. He presents

3 Circumstances where prayers are most effective in the lives of believers

1. In solitary suffering — pray unto God, and sing cheerfully

He says in verse 13 that we are to “pray” during suffering. Remember,

context is from the previous verses: endurance in waiting and suffering at times like farmers, prophets and Job.

But this does not dictate that we should only focus on suffering hence the need for prayer. That’s why James immediately contrasts the uncomfortable with a nondescript situation that has brought about a cheerful spirit. There he instructs us to “sing praise”. This is prescriptive in that when you do suffer, you should pray. Not just any prayer but that with wholehearted conviction which he had started with in 1:6. And when the times are good, you sing praises. Both of which are

unto God, and

acted externally

When you read verse 13, you do get the individual instruction. James uses the word sufferring which translated from the Greek also entails “sufferring emotionally” which is an internal individual situation. But read it alongside succeeding verses, you get the sense that these are prayers that are not just done in the closet but in the open church courtyard. Being in the midst of a crowd of people who know one another you have a sensing when someone is bodily ill or sick.

So James instructs us that

2. In visible sickness — we ask brethren for prayers of healing

James goes about this in three layers:

you go to the elders.

You are prayed over for healing,

while being anointed with oil.

This is not just a general, “pray for one another” instruction, though that does hold importance in the life a believer who belongs to a congregation.

Elders are those strong faithful men who God raised to stand as solid shepherds who are entrusted with the health of the flock, as Paul described to Timothy in his letter (1 Tim 3:1-7). In worldly government, not everyone can go straight to the president, governor or mayor. But the James shows us that believers are all part of one body. Those elders who he has positioned to lead the church are to be notified for the welfare of all the flock however small it may be. It isn’t to say that we should burden the leadership with every little problem, but that the health of the body as a whole is of utmost importance (1 Cor 12:27). So the elders are to be notified so that they ensure that the whole body is taken care of.

They do this by praying over the sick. This is the means by which the problem is addressed. At this point it is not a sin problem but a problem that is acknowledged and thus defaults to trust and faith in God. There is no small problem with God for He is a loving God and will provide and care for all anxieties and worries (Matt 10:29-31; 1 Pet 5:7).

The other-worldly aspect to the care of the sick is the anointing of oil. As Richardson wrote in his commentary, it is not just “merely a kind of home remedy” but is accompanied with the name of Christ as to the preaching of repentance.

James 3. Effective Prayer (5:13–18)

James never directly related sin and sickness as cause and effect, he indirectly related them in that sickness and sin make persons suffer and in that God can save from the effects of either.

Not only is there faith in Christ that the healing remedy can only take its intended effect, but to also show that sin and sickness both are causes of people’s suffering and that Christ is the only One who can remedy for both. Who’s to say that the medicine will work 100% of the time? That’s why there is an idea of efficacy in medicine, it does not work all the time.

The second half of verse 15 James makes this parallel between physical sickness and sin. He pushes forth that prayer

3. In communal accountability — we confess and exchange prayers with brethren

This is not to say that we are gods to one another that we cleanse each other of sin. That is coming from being encouraged to engage prayers of faith, not with “wrong motives” (James 4:3). These are to be confessions and prayers that are meant to strengthen one another, not bring another down. All of us believers are aware of the salvation we have all been given. God’s sole role in our salvation does not just stop at justification but encompasses all aspects of life. Confession to one another reminds us of that. Add to that praying to Him for one another’s burdens acknowledges that, like our salvation, it is only through God can we care for one another and that we all are healed.

It is also worth noting Richardson’s point that prayer is the tool of healing rather than faith, but never without faith. Prayer is faith in God acting out, rather, voiced out. But like the anointing of oil, believers still strive to do whatever they can to help as they know how to, but always with faith in the name of the Lord.

To amplify these truths, James uses Elijah as an example. To credit the three years and six months of no rain from one prayer and then sudden rain after praying the second time is testament to God’s design for prayer. It is not doubting God’s sovereign providence but participation in it. It is a blessed privilege to pray that God’s will be done, as these prayers are heard (Psalm 66:19–20 “But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me.” )

Elijah who effectively prayed with the right prayer of faith, also restored the nation from its Jezebelian idolatrous sin.

James uses the example of Elijah here to connect that not only is the body to pray over sickness that can result in one’s one confession and forgiveness of sin, but that as a body there is great relief and reward for restoration of one of its members. He reminds us that we still are sinners who needs repentance when we switch to the world at times of weakness. All who have repented and ultimately put their faith in Christ ultimately are completely cleansed of their “multitude of sins”, which the act of confessing and praying for one another reminds us of continually.

Gleanings

Pray personally unceasingly

Pray for one another unceasingly

Pray in complete faith in God

Reflect!

Which part of your prayer life have you been neglecting or can be better? What are the benefits you can look forward to once that base is covered?