Prayer: Are you in need of some

Introduction:

We have been talking about this issue of prayer for the past couple of weeks

We have spoken about Hannah’s prayer, and her great desire to trust and believe in God to grant her a child, and yet she prayed for years, and developed a deep dependence upon God.

We look into Moses life, and discovered that God would always make a way for his people to commune with him, even after they have sinned against him. We discovered that God would created a place, a meeting place where people could come and not only ask from God, but could also come to speak with him as one who sees someone face to face

Chaplain Ritter spoke to use a couple of weeks ago concerning where to fond courage to act through prayer as we looked into the books of Judges and looked at Gideons life.

Last week we looked at Jacob as he was reminded to pray as he was confronted with the overwhelming fear of returning home and seeing his brother for the first time. He discovered some information about himself and how God would create in him a new identity by giving him a new name. Moreover he discovered that God would fight for him.

Through these last few weeks we have discovered a lot about prayer, and this week is no different.

This week we are going to look at not what or how others have prayed, but we are going to look at a portion of Scripture that is not only very difficult to interpret, but also the importance of us coming to prayer, and the importance of a praying church or chapel.

But we must understand that we must be people who are not to prideful or fearful to ask for prayer.

Samuel Chadwick, a Methodist preacher in England during the early 1900’s, was a man passionate about prayer and evangelism. He wrote once concerning prayer,

“Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray...There is no power like that of prevailing prayer - of Abraham pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night, Moses standing in the breach, Hannah intoxicated with sorrow, David heartbroken with remorse and grief, Jesus in sweat and blood. Add to this list from the records of the church your personal observation and experience, and always there is cost of passion unto blood. Such prayer prevails. It turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God.” Samuel Chadwick

We have fallen down on our watch to pray, to challenge people to pray, to ask people how we can pray for them.

You show me a person of prayer, as you will see the evidence of God in their lives. You show me a church or a chapel that is committed to prayer, and I will show you church or chapel that is experiencing the power of God in their lives.

We come together, weekly, but how much of it is spent in prayer. We come and we expect to hear from God, but how much of it is us coming to the tent of meeting to meet with God. We come each week hoping God hears us, but we walk away trusting in our wisdom to see a struggle through. Like Jacob, we may need to wrestle with God, a bit more.

I want to look at a very difficult passage this week in the book of James.

When we did an overview of James a few months back, I stop shy of this final passage for a reason.

It is a powerful passage, and it sums up the whole of James epistle to the churches that are dispersed throughout the region.

He ends with this encouragement to pray, and to pray for one another.

To tap into the power of God, and seeking his will to be done in each situation.

It seems pretty straight forward, but it is difficult in may ways. For may people have take this verse to proclaim something I believe it is not saying, and others have discounted it as something that has ended with the early church.

But I see it as something for the church today, and I want us to tap into this as a chapel.

I want to see God move in ways that we have never thought or imagined.

James 5:13–16 ESV

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 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.

James 5:

Up to this point James is concluding his letter to the churches.

He is encourage them from back biting, from grumbling and complaining, from not keep their word, to now, praying for one another

He is encouraging them if they want to be a strong church, then they need to be people of prayer.

Is there any among you who are suffering.

more literally, any among you who are continually enduring misfortune

We already know the churches were experiencing persecution, and we already know that James has encourage the church what happens when we suffer various misfortunes, but ultimately, they are to be people who go the Lord and pray.

Let the Pray, let them go expectantly to the Father, looking to the only one who can bring them hope in a hopeless situation.

It is is simply coming to the Father, asking him to provide for us in the midst of our misfortune, but with the acknowledgment that we want his will to be done in the midst of it.

Whether that is physical deliverance or whether that would be to keep our faith intact in the midst of the trial.

Is anyone among you happy or cheerful? Let him sing songs of praise.

Gratitude

So often we come to God with our prayers and concerns, but how often do we bring our praise reports to the congregation and God.

We ask for prayer, but how often do we come back and give God the glory for how he worked.

If we spent more time testifying of the goodness of God in our lives, if we spent more time testifying how God answered our prayers, I think more people would find themselves approaching God with our needs, our hurts, disappointments, and illnesses.

The bible tells us in

Romans 12:15 ESV

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

We are called together as a community of faith, to not only share in praying for one another, but also, to rejoice with one another, as we celebrate what God has done in our lives.

The third prayer to brought to the church are those who are sick.

The word sick come from the Greek word, “asthenow”

It not only carries the idea of someone being sick, but more correctly it carries the idea of some one who is in weakness, whether that be physical ailments, or moral weakness, mental fatigue, following into sin, or some other form of weakness.

What ever the sickness or weakness that is being caused in a person, they are to come to the church.

There is an understanding here, that the person who is sick is connected to a community of faith. That they are known by that community of faith, they are a part of that community of faith.

This is where the church or in our case the chapel can shine. This is where we take everything we have learned through our years of attending, and put feet to our faith.

As people in the body of Christ, we should be depending upon our church to be there for us spiritually.

It is relying upon the church to be use its gifts, to minister to one of its members.

Secondly, they are to call the leaders of the church to come an pray for them.

These are leaders who have been chosen by the church to be their shepherds on this earth. This would be your pastors, your deacons, your elders, or your bishops, whatever name they go by.

These are trusted individuals who the congregation sees as their spiritual leaders.

They are to anoint them with oil and pray over them. The ministry of the church does not reside within these four walls

The ministers are to go out to where the sick are and pray over them and anoint them with oil.

Verse 15

Here is the tough verse.

But notice first, the focus is on the issue of prayer, and not oil.

So the issue here is this, will every person who ever prays be healed from their sickness?

No. The best example of this is Paul, he prayed three times to be healed of a certain ailment, and yet God did not heal him physically, but rather used the ailment to further him in his walk with God. He says that God’s grace was sufficient for him, and in his weakness God was strong.

I have studied this verse for many years, and I believe that this is speaking about a prayer offered in faith, but with the realization that we trust ultimately in God’s will to do what he wants to do.

In the Long run, those who belong in Christ Jesus will enter into a eternity where there will be no more sickness.

The ultimate healing that comes, comes from believing in Christ Jesus and Christ taking our sins, so we can experience a life of complete wholeness in eternity.

However, I do also think that James is asking for people to come to the church, and ask for the elders to pray over them and in faith trust God for the outcome. Healing can come instantaneously, sometimes it takes a while, some times God uses doctors, sometimes, God brings us home.

But there is anticipation from the church, to come to God first, to have the church praying, having the elders come and pray, and it will be God who will raise them up.

But there is a call to the church and the church leadership to be ready to pray for anyone who might be fighting a physical ailment, suffering from moral failure

But this call of prayer is also a call to unifying the body of Christ, it is a call to prayer in a deeper sense. It is a call to asking the Lord to unify us under his leadership.

God enjoys when his people pray. God asks us, implores us to pray.

He wants to move in our midst, He wants to move in your life, and he wants us to call upon his name, and he will answer that call

God wants to free us from the physical and spiritual ailments we face. He wants to set us free from the worry and the concern. He wants us to live lives that are fully devoted to him.

If you are needing spiritual breakthrough, I am asking for you to come forward this morning, if you are tired and weary from this life and you need God to meet you this morning, I am asking you to come forward, if you are in need of healing from a physical or spiritual ailment, I am asking you to come forward this morning. IF you are just needing prayer, then I am asking you to come forward this morning.