The Prayer of Faith

Introduction

Good morning and welcome back!

This morning we are going to be finishing up our study in the Book of James.

And this morning we are going to be looking at James 5:13-20.

And we are going to be talking about prayer.

It is fitting that James finishes up his letter here with the most powerful weapon we have in our Spiritual battles against Satan—prayer.

Prayer is the one thing that is going to sustain us.

Prayer is the one thing that will deliver us.

We offer up all our hopes and dreams in prayer.

God hears our prayers and heals us, saves us, delivers us, strengthens us, restores us.

And if we want to the people that James and every other Scripture writer calls us to be, we must be a people of prayer.

If we want to be able to face and endure the trials and tribulations of this world that we will face, we must lean on God in prayer.

If we want to be a people of action and not reaction we must be a people of prayer.

If we want to be led by the Holy Spirit in this life, we must be a people of prayer.

If we desire healing, then guess what, we must pray and everyone else around us must pray as well.

Prayer is the key that unlocks all the mysteries of God and if we have any desire at all to be the people of God we must develop an attitude of prayer.

In fact, Jesus has already taught us about prayer . . . .

Matthew 6:5–8 NIV - Anglicised

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Notice, that Jesus says WHEN YOU PRAY, not IF YOU PRAY.

Prayer is not an afterthought, something you do if nothing else is working.

Prayer is the first thing we should turn to because prayer is how we get in touch with God.

So, when we pray, we enter into prayer with the proper attitude and respect for God.

We enter into prayer with a purpose and not “babbling like pagans” who think that God’s impressed with long flowing words and beautiful prayers filled this “thus, thous, and thines.”

Prayer is not a speech or a recital.

Prayer is us talking to God from and through our heart.

Prayer is a conversation—we talk AND we listen.

And then of course, Jesus gives us the model of how we should pray . . .

Matthew 6:9–14 NIV - Anglicised

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

So, we have the basic mode and structure laid out before us already.

And what James is doing here is building on that model and that structure to help us to be more effective and more focused with our prayer life.

To have a prayer life of purpose and to avoid the ramblings and babblings of the pagans.

So, he says starting in James 5:13 . . .

Scripture Focus

James 5:13–20 NIV - Anglicised

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Is Anyone in Trouble (vs 13-16)

So James wastes no time here.

He gets right to the point.

Again, verse 13 . . .

James 5:13 NIV - Anglicised

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

Has anyone ever been in trouble?

Of course we have.

Some of us are in trouble right now.

And that trouble could be a physical problem.

It could be an emotional problem.

But the most important thing are those Spiritual problems.

That doesn’t mean that the physical and emotional are not important, because they are very important.

But the reason I say Spiritual is the most important is because when we are Spiritually right with God, then the physical and emotional do not have as much an impact on our overall wellbeing and standing with God.

Let me be very clear, there is nothing wrong with praying for physical or emotional healing.

In fact we SHOULD pray for physical and emotional healing because that is the only way we will be healed.

And I have to say this, as much respect as I have for doctors and others in the medical field, they treat, but only God has the power to heal.

And God heals in many, many different ways.

And if we desire healing, then we should pray for it.

Now, does that mean that God will heal us the way we think He should?

No, sometimes healing is deliverance from disease and not the removal of the disease.

I have seen many more saints of God delivered from disease into the arms of Jesus than I have seem miraculously healed here on earth.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask for it.

Because we do not know what God’s plans are and it never hurts to ask.

But we do have to accept the answer God gives us, and sometimes that is the hardest part.

So, are any of us in trouble? If so, pray.

How about this though, is anyone happy this morning?

I hope so.

And in fact, James tells us that if this is how we are feeling today then we should be singing songs of praise!

In other words, we should be offering songs of prayers—prayers or praise to God!

We often forget about praising God and thanking God when we are happy and things are going well.

We focus so much on asking for help when we are in trouble that we forget the flip side of the coin.

We should be petitioning the Lord, but also thanking and praising God as well.

And now James gets into the nitty-gritty of the passage that we know best.

That we recite.

That we stand on.

He writes . . .

James 5:14 NIV - Anglicised

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Why do we lay hands on people, anoint with oil, and pray over them?

Because our Bible tells us to.

Because James has given us this patter of prayer.

And we believe that James is telling us the truth here.

So, if anyone is sick—call on the elders of the Church—have us anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord.

Have us petition the Lord on your behalf because . . .

James 5:15 NIV - Anglicised

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

And there my friends is the real rub of this passage.

Notice the first thing James says—the prayer offered in FAITH.

And it is not necessarily the faith of the elders praying for the person, although that is still very important.

No, what James is talking about here is the faith of the person coming to be prayed for.

When you come to be prayed for do you believe that God can do it?

Do you believe that God will do it?

And again, we have to be very careful here because I have seen this abused over and over by these so called “faith healers” out there.

They will come and say, be prayed for and God will heal you.

And when you are not instantly physically healed, they will say “you didn’t have the faith.”

Like it’s your fault you didn’t get healed.

Folks that is garbage.

And it goes back to what I’ve already said.

God is more concerned about healing the soul, which sometimes means deliverance into the arms of Jesus.

We may never see the physical healing we are seeking here on earth, but man we are instantly healed in ALL ways when we enter into heaven.

Which by the way is an eternal and complete healing.

And I know that’s hard because we all want to be physically healed in the here and now and we all want our loved ones physically healed in the here and now.

But sometimes that is not God’s plan.

And sometimes I believe God says, “they have suffered enough, let’s bring them home.”

And that is what God does.

And it is in our grief that we struggle with that, which is okay because that just means we love them very much.

God also understands this and God’s not going to be angry about it.

What God is going to do is offer you comfort to get through it.

But ultimately God does what is best for that child of His who is before Him with whatever issue it is.

Which is also why James says…the Lord will raise him up. If he sinned, he will be forgiven.

The reason the person will be forgiven is because they come to God in faith.

And because they have come to God in faith, they have repented and turned to God.

And God hears that and heals them spiritually and will either heal or deliver physically and emotionally.

Because that is God’s way.

And then James goes . . .

James 5:16 NIV - Anglicised

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Now, has James lost his mind here?

Does he want everyone to stand up in church and start confessing every single sin they have ever committed.

No, what he is talking about is being accountable to one another.

What he is talking about are those things that we struggle with.

He is talking about being honest with one another.

Admitting that, Yes, I am a sinner and the only way I am saved is through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Being honest with ourselves and with each other.

However, there is something to be said about having what they call an accountability partner.

Someone you trust very much that you can be brutally honest with, who will not judge you.

Because having someone like that helps you think twice before jumping into some sinful action.

When John Wesley established what is now the Methodist Church, he had what was called accountability groups.

And they took it very seriously.

You had to check in every week and confess everything that went on.

And if you missed more than an occasional meeting here and there for verified and good reason, they kicked you out the church.

Not just the group, the whole church, until you decided you wanted to be serious about the Lord.

And this was in addition to their regular Church services and Sunday School (which they established by the way).

So, think about that for a minute. Accountability to God and to others is very important to all healing.

And also, the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Elijah’s Example (vs 17-20)

To which James gives us an example . . .

James 5:17–18 NIV - Anglicised

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Elijah was a righteous man.

And Elijah’s prayer got God’s attention.

So much so that he was granted the power to shut up and open up the heavens.

So, if you want to have an effective prayer life, be like Elijah, be a righteous person, in tune with God.

And God will regard you the same way he regards Elijah.

And finishing up …

James 5:19–20 NIV - Anglicised

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Altar/Challenge

Which is something we should take hope in.,

We are never beyond God’s reach.

Now we may reach a point to where we will never listen, but we are never beyond a place where we can escape God.

And if we are finding ourselves there this morning wandering in the wilderness, we can come back to God.

Don’t listen to the devil’s lies.

God is waiting for us to come back.

God wants us to come back.

And when we do . . .

James 5:20 NIV - Anglicised

remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

So, this morning, what’s on our hearts and minds?

Are we in trouble and need the Lord’s touch?

Are we happen and need to just praise Him?

Are we sick and need healing?

Have we wandered and need to come home?

Whatever the need is, I would encourage you to seek the Lord and pray for the Lord’s intervention.

Can we do that this morning?

Let’s pray . . .