Appropriate Responses When Faced with Difficult Situations

James 5:13-20 (KJV) 13  Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14  Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 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. 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. 18  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. 19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

1. Let Us Pray and Praise

13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. When our experiences range from affliction to cheerfulness, we must pray and praise. To be afflicted is to undergo hardship or suffer trouble.

2 Timothy 2:3 (KJV) 3  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2:9 (KJV) 9  Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

2 Timothy 4:5 (KJV) 5  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

When we face trouble, we pray; when we are free of trouble, we praise. This does not mean that we do not praise God in the midst of trouble, nor that we do not pray in times of no trouble. We pray and praise God all the time.

But when we face trouble, God wants us primarily to seek Him for power and deliverance and the courage to be a great witness for Him as we walk through it all. And when we are free of trouble, God wants us mainly to praise and rejoice in Him. Temptations and trials afflict all of us, whether worldliness, lust, pride or accidents, disappointments, unfaithfulness, bad times, and bad feelings. When such circumstances strike us, we are to fight them by prayer. We are to pray and seek God for His presence and guidance, His power and strength to walk right through the trial. And we are to ask God for the courage to be a dynamic witness for Him and His glorious salvation.

However, most of us have times when we are free from trials and temptations. These are times when God wants us to walk primarily in praise and worship of Him. This does not mean that we are to walk around boisterously, slapping everyone on the back. It means that we are to be cheerful in the Lord, showing the world that there is joy in the Lord—the joy of assurance and confidence in the eternal salvation and life that Christ provides. This is the kind of joy that is to be shown to the world, the joy of confidence and assurance in the eternal future offered by God. This is the praise that is to be constantly flowing from our lips. "Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).

2. Let the Leaders pray for the sick

14 Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. When you are sick, call for the church leaders and have them pray for you.

a. "Is any sick among you?" The sick are those who are so sick that they are shut-ins—unable to get out and go to the ministers and leaders of the church.

b. "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders [ministers or leaders] of the church." The sick person should be so concerned about his welfare and trust God that he knows that God can heal him. He also believes in prayer that where two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, Christ will be there in more power.

c. "Let them [the elders] pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." The elders must pray for the sick shut-in and anoint him with oil. We must do both things in the name of the Lord. We are not healed by our prayers nor by oil but by the Lord. Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and His anointing, His divine enablement. Oil was also used for medicinal purposes. Whether or not we mix prayer with medicine, Healing comes from God. The prayer of faith shall save the sick.

d. "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up...." The Lord will heal the sick person and forgive his sins because of the prayer of faith.

3. Confess Our Sins and Pray for Each Other

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. 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. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ When you have sinned, confess your faults to one another and pray for one another. Does this mean that believers are to go around confessing all their sins in all their intimacies and ugliness? No! We should confess our sin...

• when the sin has been a wrong or injustice done against someone else.

• when we have misled or lied to someone.

• when we have offended someone or caused someone to stumble and sin.

• when restitution should be made.

• when we have publicly committed some crime, and public forgiveness is required.

• when a trusted minister or Christian counsellor may be able to help us in seeking repentance and restoration before God and man.

The reason for confessing our faults to one another is that we can pray for one another. Prayer is of critical importance because “The effectual, fervent prayer—the earnest, working power of prayer...avails much" (James 5:16). The prayer of faith heals the sick (James 5:15) and now in this verse, heartfelt prayer is a prayer that works and heals a sin-sick soul (James 5:16). Elijah is an excellent example of the power of prayer. He was a man just like us, a human being who had passions and feelings just like we have and who faced the same temptations and trials that we do. Yet Elijah earnestly prayed for it not to rain, and it did not rain for three years and six months. Then he prayed again for it to rain, and it rained, and the earth bore its fruit (cp. 1 Kings 17:1f; 1 Kings 18:1f; Luke 4:25). Earnest and fervent prayer—is effective; it works. God hears and answers prayer.

4. Reach Out to the Backslidden

James 5:19-20 (KJV) “19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. When a believer has backslidden, seek him. This is speaking of believers: brothers, if any of you stray from the truth. Believers can stray away from the truth (James 5:19) and walk in the way of error (James 5:20). When this happens, the church believers are to seek to convert him, that is, to lead him to repentance. The word convert means turning, hence, taking him by the hand and leading him to repentance. What a different place the church and world would be if we loved one another so much that we actually did this! Such a ministry of reclamation and restoration is desperately needed today! If we turn a believer around from his sin, we save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. Once a believer's soul has been saved, restored to Christ, a multitude of sins becomes covered and forgiven by the blood of Christ. Seeking others for the Lord strengthens one against temptations and trials. We should learn all we can about the faults and needs of men and God and His provision. The knowledge of both strengthens our own faith.

Conclusion

1. Prayer and praise are the proper responses in all circumstances, whether we are merry or afflicted.

2. The Prayer of faith can heal the sick.

3. When we fall in sin, we should pray with one another for repentance and forgiveness

4. When one backslides, they should be sought out and restored.

In addition to prayer, we are not meant to do life alone. The sick must call the elders, who must support them in prayer for healing. Those who sin also need a helping hand through confession and prayer. And those who backslide should be rescued. Let’s reach out to God on behalf of others and let Him use us to reach out to others on His behalf for their healing and wholeness.

Reference:

Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - Hebrew, James.