The Prayer of Faith

We are in the second week of Advent - the week where we celebrate the Peace Christ came to bring. And there is not a person here this morning, who doesn’t reflect on the concept of ‘Peace’ and says - “That’s what I need.”

n Worry Less, Live More, Robert J. Morgan illustrates the fact that many in society are very conscious of anxiety:

Amazon keeps track of your highlights. When e-book owners mark sentences, the online retailer knows and notes it. Recently Amazon released a list of the most popular passages in some of its bestselling books, such as The Hunger Games, the Harry Potter series, and Pride and Prejudice. Also released, the most highlighted passage in the Holy Bible. I expected America's favorite biblical portion to be , , or the Lord's Prayer in . But, no, it was a less prominent text, but one that's striking a deep cord in today's worried world. It was :

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You may be here this morning - and you know that this is your heart’s cry. Struggling with anxiety, fear,tempted to question, “Does God see me in this state? Does He care?”

1 THE PRODDING

2 THE PRAYER OF FAITH

3 THE PROMISE -

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1 THE PRODDING:

James begins our passage with a gentle prodding. We live in a world where our circumstances change. In a single day - you can go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. You can go from the wonder and awe of worshiping the Lord with the saints, to the delight of playing a sport that you love, to the jubilation of doing well - to the crushing ache of injury - where you hurt and are afraid that your life is forever changed. You can go through it all in a single day.

What James is saying in v. 13 is, ‘No matter what situation you find yourself in - the proper focus is ALWAYS - eyes fixed on the LORD.’ Not the circumstances that change like the wind - but the LORD of the circumstances.

Sometimes you are suffering. James asks, “Is anyone suffering?” The Greek word here points to difficulties, trials and troubles of any kind. It’s the same word he uses in v. 10: “As an example of suffering and patience … take the prophets.” They knew suffering. Jeremiah suffered constant opposition and persecution - for decades, as he obeyed God’s direction; Ezekiel - another prophet, suffered the heartache of losing his wife, ‘the delight of his eyes’ she was called. Then there was Hosea - who suffered through a disastrous marriage with a wife who kept leaving home and running after other men.

Anything in your life that yo u would look at and say, “That’s bad” - What do you do when you’re going through that kind of time? James says - “Let him pray”

Then there are the times when things are going great. Often these are the times when temptation sets in and we can fall into thinking, “Yep - life is good. I’ve arrived. I must be doing something right - pat myself on the back for getting my act together.” James says, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”

In other words - recognize that your happiness right now - it’s pure gift from the LORD - so turn to God and sing praise to Him.

Oh, but then there are the times that v. 14 points to - when your body is betraying you. You are physically sick. “Is anyone among you sick?”, James asks. “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.”

v. 13, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

v. 13, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

v. 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.”

v. 16, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Over and over again, James is pointing to the importance of prayer. Whether you are ‘suffering’, as v. 13 puts it ....

or, whether you are sick … No matter what you are going through, the solution James points to, is prayer.

And as I read these words, I am convicted. How many times have I heard someone’s story about the trials they are going through - - devastating illness, the suffering of loss or anxieties or heartache or suffering injustice at the hands of another .... and my response has been, “I wish I could do something - but at least I can pray.” “At least I can pray?!!” As if, “Well, I would really like to do something that will solve your problem - but I can’t .... so I’ll settle for praying.”

There is nothing more powerful you CAN do for someone, in their time of need, than pray for them. Back in the 4th century AD, in Antioch in Syria, there was an excellent preacher by the name of Chrysostom (that was his nickname - it means ‘the golden-mouthed’, because he was such a good preacher. He preached a sermon on prayer. Listen to what he said about the power of prayer:

“The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire. It has bridled the rage of lions. It has expelled demons. It has broken the chains of death. It has assuaged diseases. It has rescued cities from destruction. It has stopped the sun in its course. It has arrested the progress of the thunderbolt.” - - - every one of those things are actual events in history, recorded in the Bible. Then Chrysostom goes on: “There is in prayer an all-sufficient armory, a treasure undiminished, a mine never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by any storm. It’s the root, the fountain, the mother of thousands of blessings.”

I know that many of us here have no doubt that God is on the throne of the universe and we have no problem whatsoever, getting on our knees and asking that God would build His Church, or Empower His Church, Care for our persecuted brothers and sisters, living in countries around the world that are hostile to the Good News of Jesus … we have no problem praying for the ‘BIG THINGS’ in the world. But what about the so-called ‘little things’?

In fact - I mentioned this before, when we had just begun our journey through this letter - but James himself, was so convinced by the power of prayer and need to pray … people gave him the nickname, “Elephant knees”. Strange nickname. But there was a reason for it - - -One historian says about James that ‘his knees grew hard like a camel’s because of his constant prayer.” James walked his talk, on his knees.

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2 THE PRAYER OF FAITH

v. 13, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

v. 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.”

v. 16, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Over and over again, James is pointing to the importance of prayer. Whether you are ‘suffering’, as v. 13 puts it ....

or, whether you are sick … No matter what you are going through, the solution James points to, is prayer.

And as I read these words, I am convicted. How many times have I heard someone’s story about the trials they are going through - - devastating illness, the suffering of loss or anxieties or heartache or suffering injustice at the hands of another .... and my response has been, “I wish I could do something - but at least I can pray.” “At least I can pray?!!” As if, “Well, I would really like to do something that will solve your problem - but I can’t .... so I’ll settle for praying.”

There is nothing more powerful you CAN do for someone, in their time of need, than pray for them. Back in the 4th century AD, in Antioch in Syria, there was an excellent preacher by the name of Chrysostom (that was his nickname - it means ‘the golden-mouthed’, because he was such a good preacher. He preached a sermon on prayer. Listen to what he said about the power of prayer:

“The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire. It has bridled the rage of lions. It has expelled demons. It has broken the chains of death. It has assuaged diseases. It has rescued cities from destruction. It has stopped the sun in its course. It has arrested the progress of the thunderbolt.” - - - every one of those things are actual events in history, recorded in the Bible. Then Chrysostom goes on: “There is in prayer an all-sufficient armory, a treasure undiminished, a mine never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by any storm. It’s the root, the fountain, the mother of thousands of blessings.”

I know that many of us here have no doubt that God is on the throne of the universe and we have no problem whatsoever, getting on our knees and asking that God would build His Church, or Empower His Church, Care for our persecuted brothers and sisters, living in countries around the world that are hostile to the Good News of Jesus … we have no problem praying for the ‘BIG THINGS’ in the world. But what about the so-called ‘little things’?

In fact - I mentioned this before, when we had just begun our journey through this letter - but James himself, was so convinced by the power of prayer and need to pray … people gave him the nickname, “Elephant knees”. Strange nickname. But there was a reason for it - - -One historian says about James that ‘his knees grew hard like a camel’s because of his constant prayer.” James walked his talk, on his knees.

In vv. 14-15, James brings up a situation when prayer is especially needed. Sickness. And he gives God’s prescription for just such a time. Verse 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.”

So what the Bible is saying here is, “Don’t be a fatalist. When you get ill - don’t automatically think that this must be God’s will for me. Who am I to question?” No - Go to prayer! Does this seem too good to be true?

Now this is a very controversial passage, dealing with a very controversial subject. On one side of the discussion, you have Christians who say - “God doesn’t heal anymore. That was a temporary thing He did int he early days of Christianity. But those days are over. Healing has ceased.”

So, in verse 14, when James asks, “Is anyone SICK?” - our English translations get it wrong, because the Greek word he’s using here, really means not ‘sick’ but ‘weak’ - as in, ‘spiritually weak’.

And it’s true - the word astheneo can mean physical sickness or spiritual weakness. That’s why we need to go to the context. And the parts of Scripture that James echoes most heavily in this letter - are the Gospels - Matt/ Mk/ Lk/ Jn. And in the gospels, every single time this word is used - it refers to PHYSICAL ILLNESS. Also, James talks about anointing with oil along with the prayer. There is only ONE other place in the entire New Testament where prayer and anointing with oil are mentioned together and that’s .

describes the time when Jesus sends out the disciples on a training mission. They go out into the surrounding areas to do what they’ve seen Jesus doing. Verse 13 tells us that ‘they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” The evidence is strong: James is talking about prayers for healing of physical sickness here.

Now, on the one side of the subject, you have those who say that there is no more healing. On the other end of the spectrum, you have those who say, “Ya - you tell them. James is absolutely talking about physical healing. In fact, he’s not only talking about it … he’s PROMISING it.” So you have people seeking out ‘special’ individuals who claim to have the ‘gift of healing’. You’ve sen it and so have I - - people, desperately ill, clinging to the hope that, if only they can get to that stadium where the celebrity healer is - if they will just fork over the last little bit of cash in their bank account - then they can be prayed over and the healing will come. The healing MUST come.

We need to understand what exactly the Bible is talking about here, because our hope needs the solid foundation that only the Bible gives. So let’s unpack this idea of the prayer of faith.

FIRST - Notice who we are told to call. v. 14, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him.”

I wonder if you notice something that’s missing in our passage - a ‘faith healer’. James doesn’t say, when you are sick, go find someone who has the gift of healing. He doesn’t say that. In fact nowhere in the NT tells us to do that.

When you are tempted to think that the normal, every-day, ORDINARY life of a church family is so mundane … so small - - You come to church because it’s your duty … but when you have a real need - you go looking for an ‘expert’ a ‘specialist’. But that’s not how God see it. The Church - your little, insignificant church family is God’s gift to you. Is anyone sick … let him call for the elders of the church .... those regular, plain brothers who live among you, day by day and week after week.’

SECOND - Notice that this is a special kind of sickness. Verse 13 has already said that if you are suffering as a Christian - pray about it. And v. 16, “ … confess your sins to one another and PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER”. Of course - get other people to pray about it with you. The ‘sickness’ in v. 14 is a special, serious kind - that has you at the end of your rope. If you catch a cold - you don’t need to call the elders. You can if you want - and we will come, I promise you that. But that’s not what James has in mind here. This is a situation when things are desperate. Maybe immobile. So you call the elders - the responsibility is on you to call.

THIRD - v. 14 says, ‘praying over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.’ Anointing with oil? What’s that all about?

Remember Jesus’ parable - when the Good Samaritan finds a man beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. The Samaritan stops, reaches into his bag and pours two things on him. Do you remember what he poured? Oil and wine. Sounds like he’s making a salad - all he was missing was a nice vinaigrette. But he wasn’t making a salad - oil was considered medicine. Pour medicine on. So, in a sense, this is a way of saying that prayer means that God doesn’t want us to use medicine.

Makes me furious when I hear of people saying, “I’m not going to go to a doctor - I’m not going to use the medical system for my cancer - - I’m just going to ask God to heal me. I’m going to trust God instead.” Well, who gave us the gift of medicine? Where did the skill of the doctors come from? God gave us medicine. Medicine and faith are not opposites.

But there’s more to the oil than just medicine. In the Bible, oil is also a sign of the Holy Spirit - when priests were set apart - they were anointed with oil So when the elders anoint the sick Christian with oil - they are marking the person as ‘set apart’ to God. They’re saying, “God, this is your child - she belongs to you and we’re bringing her to you. She needs your touch - and we trust in you.”

You need to know that we practice , at Maranatha. If you are sick and you are praying and you have the church praying - and you are at the place where you feel the Lord leading you to call the elders to pray over you, we will come. I remember the first time somebody did just that in this church. It was a stretching experience for me. I come from a background where we were always concerned to make sure we didn’t get too emotional. Saw some of the excesses of the people who were always ...

We just didn’t really deal with . So when a lady in the church here asked me if the elders would pray over her - I winced. She had already fought cancer once and now the doctor said it was back. She wasn’t worried about herself - loved the Lord and knew where she was going. But she was concerned about the family she would leave behind, how they would make it without her. So she asked us to pray. That was WAY outside my comfort zone. But I read my Bible and, well, is right here. So we responded to her call - in fact it was a Sunday morning and we called her up to the front of the church, laid hands on her, poured out some oil on her forehead and prayed for her. We prayed that if it was God’s will - that He would heal her. We confessed - “Lord you can raise the dead - there is no sickness You can’t heal. We don’t know Your will in this situation - but You tell us to ask. So we ask that You would bring healing here. But we want Your will, not ours to be done.”

Well the lady went for another test - an ultrasound - and the growth that had previously been there - was gone. Not a trace. The Doctor had no explanation for it. But our sister in Christ did - God had answered prayer and healed her.

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3 THE PROMISE:

But this can be troubling - not everyone is healed. You’ve prayed before -

It is not God’s will that everyone be healed at every time. The message that comes across on the t.v. or in books in some circles: “God took care of your healing in the atonement.” “God wants you to be healed - so claim your healing”.

And when I hear that, I want to say - “But what about Trophimus whom Paul left sick in Miletus? Paul healed others - why not him? What about Epaphroditus, who lived with Paul and was ill? What about Paul himself who had this thorn in the flesh - some kind of issue that he was suffering with - - - three times he prayed, “Lord, take it away!”. And three times, the Lord said, “NO. NO. NO - my grace is sufficient.” And Paul said, “I’ve learned to live with it. And I understand now the lessons that God has taught me through it all.”

, “By his stripes we are healed.” But the whole context of is SPIRITUAL illness, spiritual sickness - - and Jesus died

It is NOT God’s will, not His plan to heal in every situation. I mean, common sense even tells us that. If it was - then going to heaven would be a failure. The only reason anyone would die, would be because somebody blew it - and didn’t properly pray for healing.

You find that kind of thinking in so many ‘faith-healing’ circles - If you think that a ‘prayer fo faith’ means a prayer that is guaranteed to be successful - if it’s done right .... then you are going to have to believe that if it isn’t answered - that must mean that there’s a failure somewhere. So you

I remember, as a kid, I was sick alot … severe allergies and asthma. Mom had a friend who was kind enough to look after me a few times, when parents had to be at work and I was sick. The friend’s husband was an evangelist, faith-healer. While I was in his home, being looked after, I guess he decided that it wasn’t right that a little boy be so sick. He decided to pray over me - and pray for my healing. So he prayed and prayed and prayed - - - and I waited and waited and waited. Bless his heart, I’m sure he wanted the best for me. But he did his faith-healer thing - and I wasn’t healed. So what was the problem? Well, I remember mom telling me later that she and dad had been called out - for their lack of faith. And it makes sense - if the prayer of faith is guaranteed to work every time, but this time it didn’t work - the only possible explanation must be that ‘somebody is doubting’ - and since the faith-healer says ‘it’s not me’ - then it has to be the suffering sick person whose faith is too weak.

I know some of you here have been through just that kind of a situation - ‘desperate need. Offered healing - - the healing doesn’t take - and so now, not only are you still suffering with your original problem - - now added to it, on top of it all - now you are not only sick, but you are accused of being a spiritual failure. That’s cruel. And it’s not Biblical.

Remember in , a father with a demon possessed little boy comes to Jesus and says, “Please, heal my son!” Every parent knows the urgency that the father would have come with - - ‘Here’s my boy - I love him more than life and he’s suffering. Please - Jesus, CAN YOU DO SOMETHING!” Jesus says, “Can I do something?!!” , “If you can?! ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE ONE WHO BELIEVES.” And then he puts it back on the father - “Do you believe?”

“Do you have faith?”

And the father answers with an honesty that many people DON’T have when they come to the Lord with their need. The father says, “I do believe … help my unbelief.” It’s another way of saying - “I do and I don’t. I have some faith … but I know I don’t have much. The doubts are assailing me. Please help”. And Jesus says, “That’s good enough” … and he healed the boy.

Jesus

You see friend, the prayer of faith doesn’t get its power from the faith of the person in need - - the power comes from the one we pray to. The power comes from God. James says exactly that in v. 15, “.... the LORD WILL RAISE HIM UP.”

Some are thinking - “But aren’t you speaking out of both sides of your mouth? On the one hand - James says that the prayer of faith WILL heal … but you’re saying that it won’t always bring physical healing. You can’t have it both ways, can you?”

That’s a good question. So let me help you through it. Remember - the implications of God always healing - that means that nobody who received this healing would ever die - and that’s not God’s plan. And along with remembering that - - also grab hold of what James is saying - at the most basic level: “the PRAYER of faith will save” - - - never forget that the prayer of faith is a PRAYER. NOT A COMMAND. By its very nature, prayer is a request - not a demand.

If I have in my head that every time I come in contact with a person who is ill - that I am supposed to expect that they will be physically healed …

Oh but there will be times when God will heal. There are times when we come before the God of heaven and say, “Lord, would you take care of this illness, of this suffering - would you bring physical healing. I believe you can - even if I can’t deny the doubts are mixed in … help my unbelief” - - - and God says - “Absolutely, I will heal”.

And every time the answer is ‘yes’ - what God is doing is pulling open the curtain of heaven. When you are tempted to believe the lie that this world is all there is and was and ever will be. When your heart sinks under the weight of what seems to be the cause and effect reality of this life - you get sick ...

When God answers a healing prayer - He is reminding you, His child that your destiny is for so much more. He’s saying: “This isn’t the end of your story. This world is not the way it ought to be - and your home is the NEW Heaven and earth - where there is no more sickness, no more sorrow, no death ...” That’s where you are heading - and I’m taking you there.

I get this from v. 15, “The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up ...”. “THE LORD WILL RAISE HIM UP” - The Greek word, translated ‘raise him up’ is ‘egeiro’ - the very same word that Jesus uses in the Gospels to tell his disciples that it is His mission to DIE, to be dead for three days and to be “RAISED UP” on the third day: Same word - ‘egeiro’. You know that He doesn’t mean to be raised up from a sick bed - He means to be physically raised from death to life.

Ephesians 1:20–23 ESV

that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Bonhoeffer - While waiting in a Nazi prison cell in 1943 a few weeks before Advent, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a friend, "A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent."

Shortly after penning those words, the Nazis executed Bonhoeffer. But he was right: the door of freedom for him and for us today is still opened from the outside by the coming and second coming of Jesus Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, (Touchstone, 1997), page 416