A Faith That Works
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There was a 5 year old boy, who told his dad he wanted a baby brother, and that he was willing to do whatever he could to have one.
His father told him: “I’ll tell you what, if you pray every day for two months, I guarantee God will give you one!”
The boy eagerly agreed, and began to pray every night for a baby brother. He prayed every day for a whole month, but after that, he began to get skeptical…
He asked his friends if they had ever prayed and if their prayers had been answered (this was a very smart 5 year old)
His friends told him “You don’t just pray for two months and ‘whammo’ you get a new baby brother,” so… the boy quit praying.
One month later, the boy’s mother went to the hospital and when she came back home, the boys dad called him into the room…
He cautiously entered, not expecting to find anything had quit praying.
When his dad pulled back the blanket… the boy saw that there was not one baby brother, there were two!!!
His father asked him, “Now, aren’t you glad you prayed?”
The boy answered, “Yes. But… aren’t you glad I quit praying when I did?! Who knows how many baby brothers I would have ended up with!”
What comes to mind when I say “prayer”?
Most of us think about coming to the altar… blessing the meal… praying for our needs or the needs of others… for our wants…
We might even think about hardships and healing…
We consider prayer to be important to our everyday walk, amen?
So does James…
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
Verse 13 — He says, “If you are suffering? Pray!”
Verse 14 — “If you are sick… Ask the Elders to pray for you.”
Verse 16 — “Confess to each other… and Pray for each other.”
There is no doubt that prayer is vital… amen?
But… Have you ever thought that prayer may be something more? That it may be more than those little prayers we throw up throughout the day?
Have you ever thought that prayer is something more than a reaction to our circumstances?
That it is more than a place to turn to for comfort… or provision?
James’s purpose in writing his epistle is to help the Church… to help Faithful Believers… understand what Faith in Christ really looks like, and to live that Faith out in their daily lives…
Prayer is THE CENTRAL CHARACTERISTIC of a Faithful Lifestyle.
A Faith That Works… is not something that a person “uses” when convenient… It is an ALL IN… all encompassing WAY OF LIFE!
That TRUTH is the very essence of Jewish “wisdom” thinking.
That is why the SHEMA says:
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
And Christ added:
31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Faith is not something that we “don” in times of need… or to “convince” someone of God… It is to be THE CHARACTERISTIC of how we live as God’s Children.
Do you believe that you are God’s child?
Then you MUST live a life of Faith in Him!
True Faith — A Faith That Works — brings “wholeness” to our lives… by giving us Strength and Purpose.
That is what James is concerned with…
In “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,” the answer to the Ultimate Question — the question of life, the universe, and everything — is “42”.
For James, It is “Prayer.”
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
Faithful Prayer is the thing that infuses our life with the power of God!
James told us:
5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.
Prayer is THE THING that puts FAITH into ACTION in our lives.
It is what helps us to build our lives on our Faith.
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.
We need to start there…
The Cross is our foundation… That is why that is where James starts.
He has been telling us two build a life of Faith.
And here… he gives us an illustration of what that looks like!
James 5:13 (NRSV)
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
Have you noticed that we spend a lot of time trying to “fix” our problems without prayer?
Think about it… When troubles arise, where do we usually turn to first?
— Ourselves… Our own abilities… our skills… our wealth… our established circles…
If we’re honest — Prayer is usually our last resort!
James says: “Are you in trouble? Are you suffering? Are you struggling? Then Pray!”
Prayer should be the FIRST place we turn.
Look at David… He constantly found himself in precarious situations… YET he didn’t turn to himself, he constantly turned to God.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.
Jonah spent three days in the belly of a fish… it wasn’t until he prayed that God released him.
God waits for us to humble ourselves and seek him… in prayer… before He answers.
But… that’s the problem isn’t it?
We don’t like to admit that we need help… after all, that shows weakness…
FB Meyer: “The greatest tragedy is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.”
“When life knocks you to your knees… you are in the perfect position to pray.”
James understood this… and that’s why he said: “When you face hardships, PRAY!”
Look at what he says next:
James 5:13 (NRSV)
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
“Are you happy? Praise God!”
James is saying: “Alright… so you’re not facing trouble right now — Are you praising Jesus?”
Too often, we only think about God when we’re in trouble — when times are tough, amen?
Have you noticed that?
Our world seems to ignore God (or even condemn Him) most of the time, but…
What is the first thing that happens when tragedy strikes?
— People look to God!
— They Pray! They cry out! They seek His peace, love, and provision…
And Christians aren’t exempt from this!
Many “Christians” seem to ignore… omit… or at least not even consider God when times are going good… Even though that is the first place we should turn!
James says, “This is not how it should be! We should be thinking about God all the time!”
Praise and Worship should be the natural response to God in our lives — it should be our first response when things are going well.
— Did something go well for you? Praise God!
— Did something work on the first try? Praise God!
— Did you pass that test… remember that verse… finish that project on time? Praise God!
Let me tell you:
Praising God in good times is a test of our pride.
Think about it…
When I don’t praise God for my accomplishments, what I am really saying is: “I Did That!”
James 4:6 (NRSV)
6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Praising God is not just about us either!
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
Singing praise and telling others about our joy in the Lord, draws people to Christ.
Look at Paul and Silas…
— Paul and Silas were with the people in Philippi… Great things were happening… People were being saved!
But… Paul and Silas ended up severely beaten and thrown into prison. WHY?
— They had cast a demon out of a slave girl, and the owners were mad!
Look what happened next:
22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.
24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
26 Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
That word “believe” is a word we have talked about…
It is the word “pisteuo” — “put your complete trust in.”
This jailer did! And many were saved because of it…
But here is what we need to see:
When the doors opened and their chains fell off… all of the prisoners STAYED!!!
Why?!?
— Something in Paul and Silas’s praising God in the midst of the storm… spoke to them.
Great things happen when God’s people JOYFULLY sing praises of Him.
Look what James says next:
14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
“Are you sick? Ask the Elders to pray for you.”
Notice that James places the responsibility on the sick person.
— again, this is about pride.
— We don’t like to ask for help.
James says: “Do you want to get well? Then you are going to have to ask for help!”
14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
Is James saying that prayer is not enough… or that we don’t need medicine or doctors?
NO! (he is saying) We don’t put our FAITH — our trust — in the medicine, we put our Faith in God.
vs 14 — “anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.”
The power is not in the medicine… or the doctors… but in the God behind the medicine!
Do we have more faith in the doctors than in God?
Do we put our hope in medicine, or in the God?
Bottom line — In what or in whom do we trust?
15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
In 2 Kings 20, Hezekiah believed that God could spare his life… that God could heal him.
Even though Elijah made “medicine” for his boils, Hezekiah’s faith wasn’t in the salve… it was in God.
God brought healing through the medicine, because of his faith.
We see Jesus doing the same thing with the blind man… (made mud)
15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
It’s easy to get caught up on the word “will” isn’t it?
If it “will” then what does it mean when we don’t see that happen?
It’s easy to think that our faith is lacking, or that God doesn’t care…
We need to leave room for God’s will.
We need to remember that “God’s ways are not our ways.”
If God doesn’t remove the trouble… if God doesn’t remove the sickness… there must be a reason and purpose for it…
Remember… “In all things God works for the good…” (Rom 8:28)
The prayer offered in faith will end in Christ’s words, “not my will, but yours be done.”
Robert Law — “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth.”
Look at verse 16
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
“Therefore” is connected with the previous sentence…
James 5:15 (NRSV)
15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
Confession should be a central part of our lives, Amen?
But look at what James says:
James 5:16 (NRSV)
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
We find it easy to confess our sins to God in private, amen?
We even find it easy to confess other people’s sins to each other…
But… It’s much harder for us to confess our sins to each other…
WHY???
— Pride.
Let me tell you — satan wants us to rely on ourselves instead of God.
he says: “Are you in trouble? Fix it yourself, you don’t need God.”
“Are you happy? Great! Pat yourself on the back, You did a good job!”
“Are you sick? You’ll get better. Don’t ask for prayers — it’s a sign of weakness.”
“Are you sinning? It’ll be our little secret. It’s not really wrong anyway. Don’t tell anyone, they’ll just judge you.”
Confessing our sins to each other is scary! It’s terrifying!
— We are allowing ourselves to be vulnerable… to be transparent.
— We are risking ridicule and judgment… gossip.
Four preachers met regularly for a friendly gathering…
At one meeting, one of the pastors said, “Our people come to us and pour out their hearts, confessing their sins. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul.”
After much quiet thought, they all agreed.
One confessed that he “played hooky” from church to go to a movie…
Another confessed that he smoked cigars…
The third confessed that he liked to play poker…
But the fourth wouldn’t confess…
After the others pressed him a bit, he finally confessed: “Gossiping”.
Confession can be difficult…
But… Confession is good for us… It brings healing… it brings freedom… physically… emotionally… psychologically… and spiritually.
It helps us come to the realization that… “I am not alone.”
It bonds us with others when we can join in prayer… in accountability… and encouragement.
13 No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
James tells us to “confess” and “pray for each other.”
Robert E. Lee once said: “Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray. Believing that prayer is the greatest contribution that our people can make in this critical hour, I humbly urge that we take time to pray — to really pray.
Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight — all throughout the day. Let us pray for ourselves, that we may not lose the word ‘concern’ out of our Christian vocabulary.
Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Christ and His redeeming love, for moral forces everywhere, for our national leaders. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice.”
Let me ask you: Do you see what James is doing here? Do you see what he is revealing to us?
James is showing us how to build a life of faith!
Our lives are to be built on FAITH… Prayer is the covering that binds it all together!
Because prayer connects us to the “Author and Perfecter of our Faith”…
17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
James gives us a great example of this in Elijah.
Elijah had no power of his own… Yet He defeated and shamed the prophets of baal… and he was able to Pray away the rain and pray it back again…
God poured out His power through Elijah’s faith-filled prayers.
James says, “Elijah wasn’t some ‘super Christian’… he was human, just like us.”
James 5:16 (NRSV)
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
Faith-filled prayer can move mountains!
When Hudson Taylor first went to China, he made the voyage on a sailing ship… As they neared the channel between the southern Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra… the captain knocked on his door.
“Mr. Taylor,” he said, “We have no wind. We are drifting toward an island where the people are heathen, and I fear they are cannibals.”
“What can I do?” Taylor asked.
“I understand that you believe in God. I want you to pray for wind.”
Taylor responded, “Alright Captain, I will, but you must set the sail.”
Agitated, the Captain responded, “That’s ridiculous! There’s not even the slightest breeze. The sailors will think I’m crazy.”
Nevertheless, the captain agreed. Forty five minutes later he returned to Taylor and said, “You can stop praying now. We’ve got more wind then we know what to do with!”
Listen to what James Hudson Taylor said later — “The power of prayer has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty works of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge: ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know’.”
Do we have a Faith that believes God can do anything?
I want you to npotice something about the rain coming for Elijah,
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees.
43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go again seven times.”
44 At the seventh time he said, “Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.” Then he said, “Go say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
It took 7 trips before the clouds came… even then, it started as just one small cloud.
Do we get discouraged and quit praying because it is taking to long… or because it is just one small cloud?
We need a FAITH that drives us back to God again and again!
I promise you God will not get tired of hearing us!
Let me close with this:
13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”
A Faith That Works… is Built on Prayer.
Because Prayer… places ALL of our TRUST in Him!
(prayer)