A Call To Prayer
Notes
Transcript
This morning we come to the second to last sermon in the practical book of James. So far, James has given us a series of tests to measure our faith. He tested us on how we handle trials, temptations, the Word of God, favoritism, the difference between faith and the Word, the use of our tongue, our ability to apply Godly wisdom, our heart condition, how much we trust God when making our plans, and where we stand on three virtues every believer should possess. Today our test will be on prayer.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines prayer as “an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies”
The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines prayer as “an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies”
I love this definition of prayer because it highlights the some vital requirements in prayer that are often over looked . We often only look at the first part that is the offering up of our desires unto God, but here are the parts we often over look. Our request must agree with His will, we must pray in the name of Jesus, we must confess our sin before making our request and we should always thank Him for HIs mercies.
There are times when we will continuously pray and see no results. Nevertheless, we are challenged to continue to pray not to remind God, but to be reminded of His sovereignty, His wisdom and His goodness.
And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
We underestimate the privilege of prayer, to think that we have direct access to the most Holy God who is without sin, to think that He gives us His undivided attention, to think that He can meet our every need. We do not have to wait for s specific time to pray, we do not have to go to a specific place or person. We do directly to God under His conditions any time, and any where.
In our text, James encourages us to pray in different circumstances. He encourages to pray in bad and good times, in sickness and with a righteous attitude.
1. Pray in bad and good times (v.13).
1. Pray in bad and good times (v.13)
1. Pray in bad and good times (v.13)
James asked the questions, is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. We see two points in this verse. First we should pray in difficult times.
i. Pray in difficult times (v.13a)
Trails are evitable, we cannot escape them. We either control our emotions when we experience trials or trials will control our emotions. Unfortunately, most times, our first reactions when faced with difficulties, trials, or challenges is to grumble and complain about the situation and when we complain we miss what God is doing behind that situation to bring about the best for us. James says instead if you are suffering you should pray. That’s the mindset of a mature believer. That’s the mindset of one who is allowing God to work behind the situation for His glory and our good. So, instead of grumbling and complaining, he talks to God about it and wait on God to work His purposes out. Praying during a difficult time is a sign of spiritual maturity. Difficult times open the doors for us to experience the power of God. If you do not know how to handle the difficulties you face, James says in chapter 1 verse 5, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly.
The word suffering here means to suffer misfortune or to suffer in difficult circumstances. Remember James wrote this letter to believers scattered aboard because of persecution and in
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Praise God in times of joy (v.13b).
Trails are inevitable, we cannot escape them. We either control our emotions when we experience trials or trials will control our emotions. Unfortunately, most times, our first reactions when faced with difficulties, trials, or challenges is to grumble, complain or even quit and when we respond this way, we miss what God is doing behind that scene to bring about the best for us. James says instead if you are suffering you should pray.
We see similar calls to pray in the New Testament. Let’s look at some.
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in fervent prayers to God on my behalf. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, and that, by God’s will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.
Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, so that I may make it known as I should.
pray constantly,
Brothers and sisters, pray for us also.
In addition, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not all have faith.
Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything. And I urge you all the more to pray that I may be restored to you very soon.
The mindset of a mature believer is to pray. That’s the mindset of one who is allowing God to work behind the situation for His glory and our good. So, instead of grumbling and complaining, he talks to God about it and wait on God to work His purposes out. Praying during a difficult time is a sign of spiritual maturity. Difficult times open the doors for us to experience the power of God. If you do not know how to handle the difficulties you face, James says in
Prayer is certainly a high and holy privilege. To think that, as God’s children, we can come freely and boldly to His throne and share with Him our needs! Seven times in this section James mentioned prayer. The mature Christian is prayerful in the troubles of life. Instead of complaining about his situation, he talks to God about it; and God hears and answers his prayers. “Taking it to the Lord in prayer” is certainly a mark of spiritual maturity.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.
That’s the mindset of a mature believer. That’s the mindset of one who is allowing God to work behind the situation for His glory and our good. So, instead of grumbling and complaining, he talks to God about it and wait on God to work His purposes out. Praying during a difficult time is a sign of spiritual maturity. Difficult times open the doors for us to experience the power of God. If you do not know how to handle the difficulties you face, James says in chapter 1 verse 5, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly.
God may choose to answer our prayers by removing the difficulty it brings glory to Him, but He may chose not to and instead give us the grace to endure.
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
You may recall Paul’s prayer to God to remove the thorn in the flesh, but God said to him, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.
especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The prayer that James encourages here is for the spiritual strength to endure the trial with a godly spirit and attitude. You may be experiencing a difficult situation this morning be it finances, health, family, relationships, job related or personal and you have been praying to God to remove it and He has not. Don’t give up, keep praying.
In this section, James encourages us to pray by describing four situations in which God answers prayer.
You may be experiencing a difficult situation this morning be it finances, health, family, relationships, job related or personal and you have been praying to God to remove it and He has not. Don’t give up, keep praying.
ii. Praise God in times of joy (v:13b).
James asked, is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. This admonition is easy for most people. In the good times of life, we should remember to sing praises to God as we reflect on His goodness and grace in our lives. We should approach God to sing praises to Him as often as we go to Him when we experience difficulties. We cannot take our blessings for granted.
Prayer for the Suffering ()
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
2. Pray in times of sickness (v.14-16a).
2. Pray in times of sickness (v.14-16a).
i. Pray with the church
We come now to a familiar act and probably the most popular act in our lives—the act of praying when sick. James states, Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The context here refers to someone who is sick in bed and cannot get out. As a result, he is to call those who lead the church to come and pray over him. Notice the preposition used in this verse, The Greek says pray over instead not pray for. Here is where most scholars conclude that the person is confined to bed.
The word afflicted means “suffering in difficult circumstances.” The phrase “in trouble” is a good translation. Paul used this word to describe the circumstances he was in as he suffered for the Gospel’s sake (). As God’s people go through life, they often must endure difficulties that are not the results of sin or the chastening of God.
I want to bring your attention to the term elders mentioned in this verse. The “elders” is the same term for pastors and are spiritually mature men who led the local church in its spiritual development. The term “elders” is always used in the plural sense signifying that the church is to be led by a plurality of elders and not by one person. It’s my prayer that we will one day be led by a plurality of elders at BCC.
James says, the one sick is to summon the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, and he is to do something else. He is to anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The Greek text refers to olive oil. The oil is symbolic and, in the Bible, anointing of oil symbolizes setting apart someone or something for a particular purpose. It’s important that we do not take this text as a formula for healing. There are several things to note here. The power for healing is in praying, and not in the oil. The oil had no healing power in itself. Only God has the power to heal. Note also, the power is in God, and not the elders. There are times when God choses to heal physically, and there are times when He choses to heal spiritually. There are times when a sick believer may not make it, and some may think God has failed or disappointed them. God never fails! When a sick believer dies, it’s because God chose instead to heal them completely by taking them out of a sick body and placing them into a glorified body where they will never experience pain and suffering again. The emphasis here is to pray with the church.
ii. Pray in faith
What should we do when we find ourselves in such trying circumstances? We must not grumble and criticize the saints who are having an easier time of it (); nor should we blame the Lord. We should pray, asking God for the wisdom we need to understand the situation and use it to His glory ().
V:15 James says, the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Praying in faith does not necessary indicate that if we have sufficient faith the sick will automatically experience healing. Again, the power is not in man, but in God who alone has the power to heal. Always keep that in mind. To pray in faith is to pray with confidence that God can heal the sick but more so, it’s praying according to the will of God. We see this is .
This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.
We may not know if it God’s will to heal someone so we should always remember to pray if it is your will.
We may not know if it God’s will to heal someone so we should always remember to pray if it is your will.
Do you pray just for praying or do you pray confidently that the great and sovereign God who formed man in His mother’s womb is hearing and will answer our prayers according to His will not ours.
James says the prayer of faith will save the person. The Greek work save also means heal so in this context James is speaking about the healing of the sick through the prayer of faith as is inferred by the statement, and the Lord will raise him up. The promise of raising up the sick person refers to physical restoration to sound health and not to participation in the final resurrection. He continues, if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Did you know sin can cause sickness? Listen to what Paul says in .
This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.
However, sin is not always the cause of sin. James give hope to the one is sick because of sin in his life. The Bible provides hope because forgiveness is available. James says he will be forgiven. God forgives our sins in Jesus and He completely forgives us when we come before Him.
iii. Pray with others in mind (v.16a)
Prayer can remove affliction, if that is God’s will. But prayer can also give us the grace we need to endure troubles and use them to accomplish God’s perfect will. God can transform troubles into triumphs. “He giveth more grace” (). Paul prayed that God might change his circumstances, but instead, God gave Paul the grace he needed to turn his weakness into strength (). Our Lord prayed in Gethsemane that the cup might be removed, and it was not; yet the Father gave Him the strength He needed to go to the cross and die for our sins.
James says, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. This is the only verse in the Bible that commands us to confess your sins to one another and it is reference to praying for the healing of one another.
The word therefore belongs to this verse and not to the preceding verse and should read according to the Greek text, Confess, your sins therefore to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be heal. You cannot live the Christian life in isolation. When we sin, we affect not only ourselves, but the body of Christ as well. James says we should confess our sins to one another, he did not say to a priest or a pastor. When we sin, we owe it to those we have offended to confess and seek forgiveness. There are times when we may have to go directly to an individual and there are times when we may have to come before the church. Let me say this, when a person seeks your forgiveness you should show the utmost respect for action because it indicates humility on their part and obedience to the command of God. We should never make it difficult for someone to come to us. None of us are above sinning. By confessing our sins and praying for one another especially if our sickness was caused by sin, James says we may be healed.
James indicated that everybody does not go through troubles at the same time: “Is any merry? Let him sing psalms” (). God balances our lives and gives us hours of suffering and days of singing. The mature Christian knows how to sing while he is suffering. (Anybody can sing after the trouble has passed.) God is able to give “songs in the night” (). He did this for Paul and Silas when they were suffering in that Philippian jail. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God” ().
Praying and singing were important elements in worship in the early church, and they should be important to us. Our singing ought to be an expression of our inner spiritual life. The believer’s praise should be intelligent () and not just the mouthing of words or ideas that mean nothing to him. It should come from the heart () and be motivated by the Holy Spirit (). Christian singing must be based on the Word of God () and not simply on the clever ideas of men. If a song is not biblical, it is not acceptable to God.
5:13. Christians pray both in times of trouble and in times of joy. In times of trouble Christians often fall victims to self-pity, anger, or morbid introspection. James directed Christians to pray rather than surrender to these wrong responses. Trouble includes physical and emotional stress arising from both ordinary trials and special spiritual difficulties. During such trouble we are to “keep on praying.” Sufferers must not stop their prayers after a quick prayer for help. They must live in an attitude of prayer.
3. Pray with a righteous attitude (v.16b-18).
3. Pray with a righteous attitude (v.16b-18).
The word righteous refers to one who is in a right relation with God through faith. It also means to be upright, moral and blameless. We cannot read this verse without paying attention to what came before. James says in verse 16, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. Then he says, the prayer of a righteous person is very powerful and effective. Our righteousness s on display when we do what is right and pleasing to God. By confessing our sins, we acknowledge our wrong doings, we seek forgiveness and we pray for one another and God hears. In other words, we cannot come to God with sin our lives and expects God to respond. Listen to what Jesus says in .
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
Do you want your prayers to be powerful and effective, then live a righteous life by seeking to do what is right and pleasing to the Lord.
i. Example of a righteous man (v.17-18)
Happy describes a cheerful, elated mood. This is not a giddy, flippant outlook but a mood of cheer and optimism. Prosperity and pleasant experiences in life can cause a person to forsake God due to complacency or worldly contentment. Instead, life’s good times should lead us to sing songs of praise to God as the author of the blessings. The same verb can be translated “make music” to the Lord (). This command does not demand the use of music but calls for the expression of words or thoughts to praise or thank God.
James mentioned Elijah as an example of a righteous man whose prayers were powerful and effective. Our prayers must line up with God’s will and His promises. The context of Elijah’s story is found in . In
The Lord will open for you his abundant storehouse, the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.
God said if His people obey Him, He would open cause the sky to give the land rain in its season but in
The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
He said if they disobey Him the sky will be like bronze and the earth beneath like iron. So, God used Elijah’s prayer to accomplish His promises on earth. Elijah prayed according to God’s word believing that God would keep His promises. Robert Law once said, “Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven. It’s getting God’s will done on earth.” Our prayers must always connect with God’s word so we can stand on His authority and claim His promises.
There is something else I want you to know about Elijah. He was persistent in His prayers. Too often we give up when we do not get an answer because we expect God to answer our prayers on our timetable. James says in verse 17 that Elijah prayed earnestly. He believed God would do what He says He would do. Do you pray earnestly believing that God will do what He says He will do? You may say well I am not Elijah or Elijah was a great prophet chosen by God to do a specific task. James beg to differ. He says Elijah was a human being as we are. He had weaknesses and frailties like all of us, but God used him and is willing to use everyone who makes himself available. The same power that resided in Elijah is also resides in each believer.
Christians who face trouble often lose their awareness of the presence of God due to gloom. Christians who have elation tend to forget God in the joy of their good success. Both darkness and sunshine should lead believers to a consciousness of God.
So, when it comes to praying for the sick, we have to pray according to the word of God and His will. Not what would we want. Prayer is the greatest power available to the believer, yet it is the most under used tool.
How can we be effective in our prayers? We need to live in a close relationship with God and walk according to His commands by loving what He loves and rejecting what He hates. May God raise up a group of faithful prayer warriors at BCC who loves God and His word more than anything and anyone in this world and who will seek to constantly and earnestly come before God.
Pray in times of difficulties (v.13a).
Praise God in times of joy (v.13b).
2.Pray in times of sickness (v. 14-16a)
2.Pray in times of sickness (v. 14-16a)
Pray with the church.
Pray in faith.
Pray for God to hear.
3. Pray with a righteous attitude (v.16b-18)
3. Pray with a righteous attitude (v.16b-18)
2. Pray in faith
3.