Keep On Praying

MAY 31, 2020 STUDY NOTES JAMES 5:17-18 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES KEEP ON PRAYING INTRODUCTION The main point of James 5:13-18 is prayer, each verse has a reference to prayer In verse 13 the individual is called upon to pray In verses 14 and 15 the elders of the church are called upon to pray In verse 16 the church congregation is called upon to pray How powerful is prayer? We find an example in verses 17 & 18 There is no need that prayer cannot meet and no problem that prayer cannot solve In the closing verses of James, he encourages us to turn to God in faith and prayer Regardless of the circumstances we face, good or bad, continue to trust God and pray James said in verse 16, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” And he gives us an example from the OT, Elijah, who is referred to 30 times in the NT Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. James made a good choice when he selected the prophet Elijah as an example of prayer In Elijah’s day the belief in many gods was common among the people The name Elijah means “the Lord is my God,” and his prayer life revealed the truth of his name He lived according to his name and was highly respected among the Jews as a prophet of God Through his prayer life he accomplished great things for God Before James tells us of Elijah’s prayer power, he wants us to know something else about Elijah Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, James felt that he must remind us that Elijah was just a human being like you and I are He had a human nature just like James and just like we do, we have all sinned, Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: He was not a super spiritual saint he was just a sinner saved by grace, Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: No one serves God apart from the grace of God, Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. By the grace of God all Christians are gifted with the faith to serve God In James 2, James thoroughly covered the subject of faith, with the conclusion, Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? As Christians we are to live by faith and pray in faith, faith makes a difference in our daily life James is telling us how powerful the prayer of faith can be when Christians, like we are, pray Elijah was just like we are, suffering the same things that we face in our daily life He was subject to the same emotions, he was liable to the same weaknesses Just because he was a man of God, he was not exempt from the earthly experiences of life He faced the difficulties of life and he found his strength to endure through prayer Elijah was of a human nature just like us when he prayed like he did So, the difference must be in his “Godly nature,” which James has already presented to us He had a “Godly nature” that we can all relate to and commit to in our daily life Look at what James tells us about Elijah--and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: “He prayed earnestly” means he prayed intensely Literally it says, “with prayer he prayed,” indicating that he got his answer by prayer Prayer was of utmost importance in the day of Elijah, evil abounded in his day Just like we see it today, so we need to see Elijah’s kind of praying today Elijah, as a man of God, faced the opposition of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel King Ahab, influenced by Jezebel, had turned to the worship of Baal He had established a center of Baal worship at Samaria Jezebel is known as one of the most wicked women who ever lived on the earth Through her influence the prophets of the Lord had been killed The remaining faithful ones of Israel went into hiding because of the persecution That is when Elijah prayed that it might not rain Through Baal the people were worshipping matter and pleasure as their gods King Ahab, Jezebel, and their followers believed that Baal controlled the rain Elijah wanted them to know that His God was the Living God He would prove to them that his God was not a dead god like Baal His prayer to his God proved that his God was in control of nature The lack of rain would not allow the land to produce fruit, there would be no food Without food there would be hunger and starvation and all would be affected alike The kings, the rich and the powerful would not be able to do anything about it Their might and their money would be meaningless, the priest of Baal could do nothing But God’s praying prophet could do something, “he prayed earnestly” and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. The first mention of Elijah is in, 1Ki 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. His precise prayer is not given, but we find what he did as-a result of his praying Elijah had walked with God, he was sent by God, and instructed by God His instructions had come from the “Lord God of Israel” Notice also, “before whom I stand,” he stood as a servant of the Living God The time-period of the drought is not specifically stated in the OT A time is mentioned as “of the third year,” 1Ki 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. (God said He would send rain) James had heard Jesus teach, Luk 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; Jesus said the drought was for 3 ½ years, in which King Ahab had time to repent God presents many opportunities for sinners to repent of their sins and turn to God The times that we are facing is a good opportunity for people to repent and turn to God Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. There are many thoughts to consider concerning the prayers of Elijah He not only prayed, and it rained, he prayed, and fire fell from heaven, 1Ki 18:36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Elijah identified God as the only true God and Elijah’s desire was to serve Him, 1Ki 18:37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Elijah wanted the people to know the truth about God and the truth about Baal, 1Ki 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When the people saw it they knew that the Lord God was the true God, 1Ki 18:39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. Then Elijah ordered the prophets of Baal to be seized and slaughtered, 1Ki 18:40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. The drought would now be broken, Baal was not the lord of the rain The drought had its beginning when the man of God prayed It will now end at the command of the man of God, according to God’s will and plan, 1Ki 18:41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 1Ki 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, His position represented his state of humility before God, he waited for God to answer, 1Ki 18:43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. Do not give up on God, six times there was nothing, but then the seventh time, 1Ki 18:44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 1Ki 18:45 And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 1Ki 18:46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. James is telling us that God will answer prayer when righteous men pray A righteous man will always pray for the will of God to be done A righteous man is in the will of God when he prays and desires to remain in His will Knowing that God has chosen to work through man and accomplish His will in them ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE PRAYER LIFE OF ELIJAH There are several accounts of the prayer life of Elijah recorded in Scripture We find that Elijah was bold in his praying, he was not afraid to ask of God So, we read of miracles related to the prayer life of Elijah Remember what James said about Elijah, he was just a man like us But he was a righteous man who prayed the prayer of faith God used Elijah to raise unto life the dead son of the widow of Zarephath--1Ki 17:17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 1Ki 17:18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? She felt that she was being punished because of some sin in her life So, she cried out against the prophet as if he were the cause of her punishment, 1Ki 17:19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. Elijah prayed as if his presence might be the cause of the son’s death, 1Ki 17:20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 1Ki 17:21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. Elijah prayed for the boy to be restored to life, the power to heal was not in the action of Elijah It was in the power of the Lord through the prayer of Elijah Just as we found in James, the power of healing was not in the anointing with oil Healing power was from the Lord through the Prayer of Faith in the Name of the Lord The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, 1Ki 17:22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 1Ki 17:23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.1Ki 17:24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. We are to see that the decision to heal by the Lord was accomplished through prayer A most important area of prayer is prayer for one another CONCLUSION Who is on your prayer list today? How concerned are you about their need? Did you pray for them this morning? Are you going to pray for them before you go to bed tonight? Do you want our church to pray for them? Do you believe what James told us? Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Do you believe that Christians today can pray a powerful prayer of faith like Elijah did? Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. We need a church family who believes in prayer We need a church family who prays believing