The Powerful Prayer

Please open your Bibles to James 5:13-18.

How do you respond to suffering?

How do you respond to change?

How do you respond when your plans are abruptly brought to a halt?

That describes life right now doesn’t it.

James is writing to Christians who have been scattered.

The church is facing persecution.

Their lives have been changed.

They’ve been driven from Jerusalem.

They are scattered.

They are suffering.

Times are hard.

James is addressing those who are struggling.

Those who’s faith is shattered.

Those who are wondering how much they have left in the tank.

When these times arrive, you wonder how you are supposed to respond.

How are you supposed to continue?

James answer is remarkably simple.

Respond rightly.

If you are suffering you pray.

Prayer is the natural response to suffering.

In fact it should be our first response.

It’s the most logical response.

It’s the right response.

There is a right way to respond to situations.

Those who enter the military are trained so that when they encounter certain scenarios, their response is the right one, it’s almost second nature.

When you encounter tough times, your response should be second nature.

It should be a no brainer.

James gives us an example of a no brainer response.

A response that doesn’t take much thinking.

He asks, “Is anyone cheerful?”

Let him sing.

That reminds me of the song, “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.”

The song describes the natural response to pleasure.

“If you’re happy and you know it, you’re face will surely show it.”

Smiling, laughter, is the natural response to pleasure.

When you are cheerful, praise and joy, are the natural response.

You don’t have to be told to give praise to God.

And when it comes to suffering, the natural response is to pray.

Prayer should be the first response.

Strangely, it’s often seen as a last response.

We do all that we can, and when we run out of options, then we pray.

That’s why James begins the way he does in verse 13.

If you are suffering, you pray.

If you are joyful, you sing praise.

The rest of the passage elaborates on how prayer should be the first response for the struggling Christian.

The type of suffering that James is describing is a spiritual suffering.

Many times when this passage is read, it’s thought to be related to some kind of physical ailment.

You’re going into surgery.

Perhaps, someone is dying.

And this is their last ditch effort.

A person wants to be cured, so he calls the elders over.

He’s anointed with oil and hopes to be cured.

But I’m not convinced that’s what this is about.

The language of the text is more than physical sickness.

Verse 14 says, “Is anyone among you sick?”

The word for sick there can be used to describe fatigue.

Then, down in verse 15, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick ...”

Where you see sick in verse 15, that’s not the same word for sick that you see in verse 14.

Verses 14 and 15, though translated sick in our Bible’s are actually two different words.

The word in verser 15 describes to be sick from exhaustion.

Not a physical illness.

This is an exhaustion.

Wondering how you can go on any further.

It’s more related to your endurance in your faith, endurance in walking with Christ, rather then your health.

Notice the response to the sick person.

Verse 15, mentions the forgiveness of sins.

Verse 116 says that there is to be the confession of sins.

There is a hope of resurrection.

There is forgiveness of sins.

There is confessing to one another.

There is praying for and with one another.

What I want you to see is that this suffering is actually connected to the faith of the one suffering, not an illness, or a disease.

The person might be in some kind of sin.

He might be disciplined by the Lord.

The Lord is using this suffering as a way to sanctify the individual.

To help the person suffering, see that there is a problem with his faith.

To see that there is a problem with how you are living.

That’s why confession is listed.

The one suffering has some kind of sin that is being addressed by the Lord.

This isn’t dealing with a random disease, or the result of a low immune system.

This is dealing with a spiritual sickness.

The Lord is using a difficult situation to refine the Christian who’s faith and obedience are lacking.

What does this spiritual sickness look like?

Well, it could be a lack of belief.

It could be a faith, that is dwindling.

It could even manifest itself in some kind of physical sickness.

Let me warn you, not all illness is from sin.

Just because you catch a cold, the flu, or get sick, that doesn’t mean that you are being disciplined for some sin.

Let me be clear about that.

Some illness is just an illness.

One day you will die, and that death will be God’s way of bringing you to Himself.

You have to do die some way.

Not all illness is from sin.

But some suffering may be given by God, to discipline the Christian who is sinning.

To help the Christian see that what He is doing is disobedient, and it’s the Lord’s way of opening your eyes to bad behavior.

For example, I Corinthians 11:27-30.

A passage we don’t read enough during communion.

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”

What does that tell us?

There were people in Corinth, who were taking communion wrongly.

They were sinning.

And they were getting sick, ill, and some even died.

This was the Lord’s discipline, and sanctifying work.

They weren’t getting sick during communion because the wine went bad.

They were getting sick because they were taking it wrongly.

David mentions physical pain after sin.

King David, had an affair with Bathsheba.

She became pregnant.

He then conspired for her husband, Urriah, to die.

He became guilty of murder and adultery.

But he didn’t repent of that sin.

He didn’t confess that sin.

He kept it secret.

He tucked it away deep inside himself.

While he bottled up that sin, failing to confess it, he was in agony.

Psalm 32:3-4 says, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.”

He had physical pain, while he hid his sin.

David attributed that physical pain to the Lord’s heavy hand.

That physical pain was God’s way of revealing David’s hidden sin.

Have you been here before?

Have you been in a situation where you are suffering, and you know it’s because of sin?

Have you ever had a time, where you knew you were not walking in the Spirit, you were not living obediently to the Lord, and you were just existing in life?

Maybe that’s you right now.

The frequent changes are getting under your skin.

Finances are getting tight.

Relationally, you’re tired of seeing the same couple of people.

And you are struggling in your walk with God.

You are blaming Him for everything.

You have no desire to pray.

You have no desire to read your Bible.

You are even wondering if you are a Christian.

You’re in the depths of despair.

This is the Lord’s way of opening your eyes.

He is using this time to discipline you.

To sanctify you.

In fact, I would even say that you can rejoice, because in your misery, the Lord, is demonstrating His love for you.

The misery that you are experiencing is not God abandoning you, but is God caring for you, in much the same way that a parent does not let a child behave however he wants, but a loving parent corrects and disciplines.

That discipline is not fun.

It’s met with tears and crying.

But parents, it’s your loving way of correcting those under your charge.

Hebrews 12:7-12 describes what the Lord is doing as He disciplines you.

“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,”

As you face discipline, as you suffer the affects of disobedient faith, and hidden sin, that discipline proves that you are a child of God.

If you find yourself suffering, rejoice, because it means the Lord has not abandoned you.

The author of Hebrews said, “For the moment all discipline seem painful rather than pleasant ...”

Suffering is real.

Suffering is painful.

But the Lord has a purpose in it.

As you deal with spiritual sickness, James gives us two groups of people to support us in our battle with spiritual sickness and suffering.

He says to call for the elders of the church, and confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.

Let’s look at these two groups that God has given you to battle spiritual sickness.

First, God has given you praying elders.

Look at verses 14 and 15, “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. 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.”

You could be physically sick because of sin like we’ve seen in I Corinthians 11, or you could be spiritually sick, dealing with a crippled faith, and a lackluster love for the Lord.

What do you do?

James says to call the Elders.

Why the Elders?

In the requirements for Elders, they are to be able to handle the word well.

Not only are they supposed to be able to handle the Word, and know their Bibles, but they are required to be able to teach the Bible, to teach God’s Word.

So you are hurting in your faith, maybe you’ve fallen victim to a sin, you seek the elders out.

You ask them to teach you.

To open God’s Word.

This is primarily the Elders task.

It’s to handle the Word of God.

Too often, we think of Elders wrong.

We think of them as a board.

We think of them as volunteers.

But really, the Elders job is to teach.

In Acts 6:4, the Elders were being stretched into wrong areas, and they had to correct the people, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.””

This is what we do.

Your spiritual condition is the Elders’ responsibility.

You don’t ever have to apologize for seeking the help of the Elders, because it’s what they do.

They are to protect the church from false teaching, and they are to devote themselves to the ministry of the Word.

You come to an elder, and the elder open’s up the Bible, and shows you God’s will for your life.

This is our job.

Sadly, our culture, and even many Christians, have pushed this ministry aside.

To our danger, we have traded the ministry of the word, and the responsibility of elders for psychologists and secular counselors.

Too often when people fall into these moments of despair, depression, and sin, we don’t go to the Word.

We look for psychologists or secular counselors.

As if they have the answers in life.

That’s not what people need.

People need loving Elders who will shepherd the flock of God that has been entrusted to them.

This is what people need.

And this is God’s order for things.

That there be pastors and elders who are concerned about the state of your soul.

Another reason why you need to go to Elders is that they are responsible for you.

They are motivated by the fear of God.

You are not my church.

You do not belong to me.

The Chief Shepherd is Jesus Christ.

He purchased you, by His blood on the Cross.

He’s the one that bought you.

I and the other Elders have been entrusted by Jesus Christ to care for that which cost Jesus His life.

My motivation, is that one day I will stand before Him, and I will be judged by how I care for you.

Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

And notice what the elders do, they pray.

Praying is the primary verb here.

Their main job is to pray over you.

People get distracted by the oil.

The oil wasn’t holy.

It wasn’t even medical.

The oil doesn’t have medicinal properties.

Think of oil in the Old Testament.

It was used to consecrate someone.

To set them aside.

The person who is spiritually sick, recognizes his sickness, knows that there is a problem, and comes requesting prayer, from someone who watches over him.

This is almost like an emergency room situation.

The person who is spiritually sick, is caught up in sin.

He’s caught in a sin, and his faith is waivering.

So he comes to the elders requesting prayer.

And in that request for prayer you are specific.

You confess your sins.

Not because the Elders have any ability of power to forgive your sins.

We are not like the Roman Catholic priests, who idolatrously take the place of Christ in removing sins.

You haven’t sinned against the elders.

It’s God that you’ve sinned against.

But in that confession, you are owning your sin.

You are recognizing the reason for the Lord’s discipline.

You are agreeing with the Lord, that you have been at odds against Him.

And when you make this good confession, this recognition, verse 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.”

This is much more than a physical healing.

This is a spiritual renewal.

It’s good for you to confess.

Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

As long as you are holding that sin inside, the sickness, the doubt, the spiritual blues, whatever you want to call it, it will remain.

Your suffering is the Lord opening your eyes, and disciplining you.

And then you confess.

Then there is healing.

I read from Psalm 32 earlier, and it mentioned the anguish that David was going through because of his secret sin.

Listen to Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

Notice the order here.

It’s not pretend the sin never happened.

It’s acknowledge the sin.

Confess the sin.

Repent of the sin.

And you will be healed.

Your faith will be strengthened.

Are you tired?

Are you spiritually sick?

Then notice the model.

You call for the elders.

Your friend doesn’t call for the elders.

Another church member doesn’t call for the elders.

You call for the elders.

Because you recognize that there is a problem.

So you call for them.

Out of faith and obedience to God’s Word, you call for them.

And if there is sin, you confess it.

Verse 15 says, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”

I can’t guarantee a physical healing.

But I can guarantee a spiritual healing.

On the last day the Lord will raise you up.

If you confess your sins.

Trust in Christ.

Know that He died for your sins.

And this is where your faith is rooted, you will have a confidence and assurance that the Lord will raise you up.

Faithful obedience to this model of restoration, will rekindle your faith, and give you endurance to the end.

Notice the second group that God has provided you in your battle against spiritual sickness, praying brothers.

Look at verse 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.”

This extends even beyond the elders.

Yes, the elders are to pray for you.

Verse 16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another ...”

The language here is that it’s not just the elders that we confess to, and it’s not just the elders that we have these heart-filled conversations with.

We have these conversations with each other.

What happens when you fall into sin?

What happens when you aren’t being faithful to the Lord?

You pull back.

A red flag for me in ministry, is whenever people pull back -

They stop serving.

They stop attending.

They stop answering the phone.

This is a red flag, because it tells me that there is a spiritual issue at hand.

Something is wrong.

There’s usually a sin.

And the person is trying to handle it on his own.

Sin demands to have a man withdraw.

Sin tries to tell you that you are all alone.

Sin lies to you, telling you that no one has ever done what you have done.

The more isolated a person is, the more destructive the power sin will have over him.

Sin produces hellish individualism.

If you are in a spiritual battle, you may be tempted to isolate.

Sometimes people will say, they are taking a break from church.

They will pull back from these important relationships.

But this is the last thing that you need.

Just like how a person who is sick, needs medical care.

If you are spiritually sick, you need spiritual care.

Or this spiritual sickness, will turn into an infection, a spiritual gangrene.

You need to be around others.

Especially right now.

People are scared.

They aren’t always thinking clearly.

People are frustrated.

And do you know what scared and frustrated people do … rash things.

They make foolish and impulsive decisions.

So be around people.

God’s plan for the church wasn’t for you to have fellowship on a TV screen or a computer screen.

This isn’t going to cut it.

Read the early chapters of Acts.

They met often.

Church wasn’t a once a week activity.

It was a community of believers, devoted to the building up of each, the Word of God, and the glorification of Christ.

James says, “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another”.

It’s not just the elders that you confess to, it’s each other.

That’s other believers.

We learn a new element to Christian fellowship here.

Fellowship is not only singing.

Fellowship is not only being together.

Christian conversation is not only talking about what you have learned in your Bible reading in the past week.

Christian fellowship is exposing your weaknesses to each other.

Because who are we kidding, none of us here are perfect.

But sometimes we act that way.

And we desperately want everyone else to think that we are already completely sanctified, a finished product, that God has nothing else to do within us.

But you’re not a finished product, and you’re not perfect.

And those areas of weakness that you have, the sins that you have are where you need to grow the most.

How often does someone ask you what they can pray for, and you don’t know how to answer that question?

So you come up with some shallow, surface level request.

When your heart is aching, because you have a sin that is crippling your walk with Christ, but you’re too afraid to tell anyone, because they’ll find out that you are a sinner.

So you bury it down within you, and it rots within your heart.

Again, what is the model, verse 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.”

We don’t tell people what we really want prayer for - and why?

Is it because you don’t think it will work?

Meanwhile, you’ve got this sin which is crippling your walk with Christ, severing your relationships with those at church, and your heart feels dead inside.

Look at what he says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

If you are spiritually sick, this is what you need.

You need others to pray for you.

James gives us the example of Elijah.

You can read about this back in I Kings 17-20.

Basically, Elijah prayed that it wouldn’t rain.

And it didn’t rain.

Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did rain.

But who was Elijah?

He wasn’t an angel.

He wasn’t the Christ.

He wasn’t some supernatural being.

In verse 17, James says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours ...”

He was just a normal man.

And he prayed.

And the Lord heard his prayers and great things were accomplished.

Those in the church, your brothers and sisters in Christ, are just like Elijah.

They’re normal people.

James 5:4, says that these normal people are able to pray to the ears of the Lord of hosts.

So use them.

Look at the pattern given in Scripture - Are you suffering spiritually?

Are you wondering whether you are even a Christian?

Maybe you have used the language, “I’m losing my faith.”

What do you do?

You pray.

You the individual pray.

You confess your sins to God, and you pray.

And you enlist others.

You call on the elders.

Confess to them.

Have them pray.

Have them teach you, ask their wisdom.

Confess to others and have them pray for you.

And you do this in faith, because it’s what God’s Word has called for us to do.

The promise in this is that you will be raised up, you will be healed.

Your faith will be secured.

You will be sanctified.

You will be made more Christlike.

It’s not that this is a magical formula.

It’s not that others are better at praying than you.

This is a reminder of our great weakness.

This is the means, the method that God has ordained so that you would be changed.

As you confess your sins to each other, remember the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Remember that it was there that sins were paid for.

And we encourage each other in that.

A brother or sister comes to you, mourning his or her sins.

You bring them to the Cross.

Remind them that sin was completely paid for there.

Atonement, propitiation, was done on Calvary.

Church, let’s put some feet to this.

A few years back, we started the Southwest Prayer Partners.

The idea is that you have one person that you contact weekly.

You can contact them through text message, telephone, get together.

But this is one person that you frequently talk to.

The person needs to be the same sex as you.

I don’t want guys having doing this with women.

This week, confess to your Prayer Partner.

The two of you commit to praying for each other in regards to a sin.

If you don’t have a prayer partner, but would like some help getting one, there should be a link somewhere near this video, in the information tab, where you can fill out a form, and I’ll help pair you up with someone.

And if any of you need prayer, please contact the elders.

We love praying for you.

If you need counseling, please use the Elders.

It’s what we are here for.

Titus 1:9 says, “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

Maybe you’re at home, you know you’ve never confessed your sin.

You have never trusted in Christ.

Turn to Christ today.

Whatever is eating at you now, is nothing compared to what is coming.

Trust in Christ, and repent in Him.

Your sins will be forgiven.

You will not fear death.