JAMES 5:13-18
FAITH WORKS PRAYERFULLY
FAITH WORKS #16 – LAST IN THE SERIES ON JAMES
R. Kent Hughes – “During the fourth century the city of Antioch in Syria produced one of the greatest preachers of the church, John of Antioch. Because of his careful exegesis, unrelenting moral application, and unmatched eloquence he was given a nickname which became his storied title, Chrysostom, “golden-mouthed.” This appellation was well-deserved, as is evidenced by his description of the power of prayer, perhaps the most exciting account ever given:
‘The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire, it has bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the fates of heaven, assuaged diseases, dispelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. There is (in it) an all-sufficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings!’” R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word – James, Faith That Works, (Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books, 1991), p.263
“Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly. Others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990) – Bible Illustrator 3.0
James is coming close to ending his Epistle and decides to leave us with a stirring encouragement to pray. Prayer indeed is not a new subject to the Scriptures.
The Old Testament calls us to prayer.
Jeremiah 33:3 - Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
The Lord Jesus calls us to prayer.
Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: [8] For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Paul calls us to prayer.
Philippians 4:6-7 - Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. [7] And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Peter calls us to prayer.
1 Peter 4:7 - But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
John calls us to prayer.
1 John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: [15] And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
And in the passage before us James calls us to prayer.
Tonight we want to see:
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
THE PRAYER OF THE DELIGHTED – Vs. 13b
THE PRAYER OF THE DESIGNATED – Vss. 14-15
THE PRAYER OF THE DILIGENT – Vss. 16-18
All of these verses are in reference to prayer.
D. Edmond Hiebert says, “Through prayer the believer habitually lays hold on God’s power for victory amid all these diverse experiences. Prayer constitutes the very heart of a vital Christian faith.” D. Edmond Hiebert, The Epistle of James, Tests of a Living Faith, (Chicago, Moody Press, 1979), p. 316
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
“Is anybody afflicted?” These were people who had been mistreated and perhaps persecuted.
There will be times in our lives when we will either literally be oppressed or feel oppressed.
James 1:2 - My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Notice it says “when” and not “if”!
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 - We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; [9] Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
The afflicted are to pray!
Why? God is the only true source of help!
Psalm 42:5 - Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Psalm 55:22 - Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer!
Are we weak and heavy ladden,
Cumbered with a load of care,
Precious Savior, still our refuge,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in Prayer,
In His arms He'll take and shield thee?
Thou wilt find a solace there. Joseph Scriven
So often we try to figure things out for ourselves and not do what is the most logical thing. The most logical thing is to just commit your affliction to the Lord and let Him work it out!
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
THE PRAYER OF THE DELIGHTED – Vs. 13b
The prayer of the delighted is a song of praise.
I think that it is very easy for us to grumble, worry, and complain when we are down.
It is also relatively easy to cry out to God when we are down.
However, when things are going well, when we are cheerful, and when things are just “peachy”, it is easy to forget that it is God who is the source of these things.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - Rejoice evermore. [17] Pray without ceasing. [18] In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Hebrews 13:15 - By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
I offer thanks for just familiar things--
The ruddy glory of the sunset sky,
The shine of firelight as the dusk draws nigh,
The cheery song my little kettle sings,
The woodland music of my giant pine,
The last sweet tokens that my garden yields,
The mellow tints upon the autumn fields,
The far-off misty mountains' purple line,
The sense of rest that home so surely brings,
The books that wait my pleasure, true and fine,
Old friendships that I joy to feel are mine.
I offer thanks for just familiar things.
--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 259-260. Bible Illustrator 3.0
My friend, when we are cherry, when we are merry, we are to praise God! This is a form of prayer.
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
THE PRAYER OF THE DELIGHTED – Vs. 13b
THE PRAYER OF THE DESIGNATED – Vss. 14-15
Vss. 14-15 – The elders are the designated leaders of the church. They are “elder” in their maturity and often in their age.
Another term used to describe them is “bishop”. This word means overseer.
When there is a severe problem, the elders of the church are to be called upon.
Undoubtedly you are familiar with the traditional interpretation of this passage.
When a person is sick he or she is to call for the elders of the church. They are to anoint that person with oil and the prayer of believing faith on the part of the elders will save the sick.
I have seen this happen. I’ve told you of a time when I and the deacons of a church I pastored were called upon to pray for the healing of a man with gall stones. I figured to pray and that the surgeon would do the surgery and the man would be healed.
However, one of the deacons prayed that the Lord would heal the gallstones without surgery. The Lord gave me the faith to agree with that prayer. The next day they took an x-ray and couldn’t find the gallstones! God healed the man.
I will still go with the elders of this church, pray, and anoint with oil whenever I am called. However, after reading some thoughts from John MacArthur and David Roper, I think that it’s time to revise my thinking on this passage.
David Roper – “The word sick in verse 13 actually means, ‘helpless’ or ‘impotent,’ and though it’s often used in the Gospels and acts to refer to physical weakness, in the Epistles it almost always refers to spiritual limitation and disability.
“The word sick appears again in verse 15: ‘The prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick’ (NASB). Here a different Greek word occurs that suggests weariness and fatigue. It’s found in only one other place in the New Testament: ‘Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart’ (Hebrews 12:3-4).” David Roper, Growing Slowly Wise Building a Faith That Works, (Grand Rapids , Michigan, Discovery House Publishers, 2000), pp. 176-177
It seems to me that James is saying, “When things are going the worst for you spiritually, call for the men who will be able to help you. Ask them to pray for you and anoint you with oil.”
This would certainly fit the duties of the elder as described by the Apostle Peter.
1 Peter 5:2-3 - Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; [3] Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
And Paul gave these instructions to the elders who were in Ephesus in Acts 20:28, Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
What would be the point of anointing with oil? I believe that the oil is symbolic of the Spirit of God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus that will actually restore the spiritual condition of the one who is in the “slough of despond” spiritually.
Vs. 15 – Elders are to be prayer warriors. They should know how to intercede before God. It is their “prayer of faith” that will restore the spiritually weary.
I assume that the one who is being prayed for has confessed any known sin as part of this process.
Of course, as he confesses, he will be forgiven.
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I think it ironic that most people will not hesitate to ask for prayer if they are physically sick. But how many would consider calling the elders of the church for prayer and anointing when they have a spiritual problem.
I think that this is due to the fact that we place a lot more emphasis on physical health than we do spiritual health!
If you have a severe spiritual need, I encourage you to seek spiritual help from the pastor and elders of the church.
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
THE PRAYER OF THE DELIGHTED – Vs. 13b
THE PRAYER OF THE DESIGNATED – Vss. 14-15
THE PRAYER OF THE DILIGENT – Vss. 16-18
Vs. 16 – James now expands his application from those who are spiritually defeated to the whole congregation.
Peter is encouraging transparency.
We should be open to being honest about our sins with other believers. I don’t think that necessarily means that we must confess to the whole congregation. But I feel that there are those we feel comfortable with that we should confess our faults to and seek their prayers in overcoming them.
I think that the idea of an “accountability partner” is a good one. An accountability partner is someone I can be honest with, and he can be honest with me. Sins are identified and confessed, and prayers are made for the partner.
The result of this system is the people will be healed. Healing here does not have to mean physical healing. It can mean spiritually healing.
The rest of this verse is an encouragement for you and I to pray passionately.
First it is to be the prayer of a righteous man or woman.
We are to be righteous in position because we are “justified by faith”.
We are also to be righteous in our practice. Those declared righteous by Jesus Christ should live righteously.
1 Peter 1:15-16 - But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; [16] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Isaiah 59:1-2 - Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: [2] But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
When I am righteous in my position and my practice then my prayers will be energized. They will be passionate.
Vs. 17 – Now it is time for an example of diligent prayer from Scripture
Elijah the prophet was a superstar so to speak.
· He was miraculously fed by ravens
· Through him a widow and her family were fed by a barrel of meal and a cruise of oil until it rained.
· He pronounced it wouldn’t rain until he said so, and it didn’t
· He had a great confrontation with the prophets of baal and won, praying down fire from heaven.
· He prayed for rain and it did. Then he outran a chariot in the pouring rain.
· He called for fire from heaven to destroy soldiers
· He went to Heaven in a whirlwind.
James is using Elijah as an example of diligent prayer.
But first, because people thought of Elijah as a superstar, he told them one very important thing.
“Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are.”
He was a man just like us.
He could sin just like us.
He had struggles just like us. Why he even got extremely depressed after a great victory.
But James is telling us that we can have success like Elijah, because what seemingly made him different was his passionate prayers.
So he prayed that it would not rain and it didn’t.
So he prayed for fire from Heaven to burn up a sacrifice and it came.
He went up into a mountain and prayed for rain and it rained!
1 Kings 18:41-46 - And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. [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, [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. [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. [45] And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. [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.
Elijah was a man of passionate prayer.
Elijah was a man of persistent prayer.
Elijah was a man of proper prayer (according to the will of God).
The reason we see so little accomplished for the Kingdom of God is because we are such pygmies in prayer!
Let us take our lesson about prayer tonight seriously.
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
THE PRAYER OF THE DELIGHTED – Vs. 13b
THE PRAYER OF THE DESIGNATED – Vss. 14-15
THE PRAYER OF THE DILIGENT – Vss. 16-18