Series on James - Praying

 

Praying

James 5:13-18

Praying is probably the most simplistic act of a believer, it is simply talking with God. But it has been turned into one of the most argued about, written about, and debated about act because of the differing in the faiths and unwritten rules applied to scripture on how to pray, why to pray, even how long to pray. James and the early church in Israel had been taught as youths to pray through the rabbinical methods and teachings of prayer; but after their salvation, they may have turned to the simplistic prayer Jesus taught the disciples.

 It is here, James instructs the church to pray in four areas of their lives: When in trouble, when happy, when sick, and for each other's sins. So let’s look at the first portion of our text. “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they 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 person is powerful and effective.”

First, praying when in trouble. That is an open-ended topic for prayer if there could be one. For what qualifies as trouble? The believers had been tested for the faith (1:1-4,12), in need of wisdom (1:5-8), in times of temptation because of being lured by the fleshly desires (1:13-15; 2:1-4), oppressed by the rich (2:6-7;5:4), and many other troubles and trials of those who had been dispersed because of persecution. So James tells them to pray to God who hears the plight of the righteous, “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” (Ps. 34:17 NIV) 

For God did not place a qualifier on the amount of trouble you have to endure before He answers. The believers knew that God’s eyes were on them all the time. “From his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth” “For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all your paths.” “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Ps. 33:14; Prov. 5:21; 15:3)

God hears the prayers of the believers immediately, it is according to His will, the when and how the prayer will be answered, for every prayer is submissive to God’s will, plan, and purpose.

Next, James now takes the opposite emotion, happiness to be a matter of prayer as well. The believers were to rejoice in the goodness of God, and one of those avenues was prayer. " You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalms 16:11 NIV) The believers also knew the pleasure of prayer through the singing through songs and psalms (Ps. 150). Their happiness and faith was bolstered through the singing of God’s greatness and goodness like in the Hallel Psalms of 115-118. The happiness and joy of the believer began through their love for God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. For His love is steadfast, “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.” (Ps. 59:16)

Third, James calls for the sick to come and pray and to be prayed for by the elders (overseers) of the church. “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they 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 person is powerful and effective.” James wanted the injured and the sick person to come and be prayed over. Again, this was a learned method of prayer demonstrated by Jesus, and applied by the Apostles and others. For they who had seen Jesus heal; remember His laying on of hands in prayer, as well healing just by His words. James now brings in oil as a medicinal anointing as in Isa. 1:6. “From the sole of your foot to the top of your head  there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil.” 

James implies the prayer of the righteous person is of first importance, the application of the oil was secondary. For it was understood that it was the prayer through faith in the name of Jesus that healed, “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.” The oil was applied as a secondary action, it was more for medicinal reasons than sacramental (greek: aleipsantes).

Fourth, James addresses the issue of sin and need for prayer. “If they have sinned, they 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 person is powerful and effective.” It was believed by the jewish people that the sins of others or their own sins could bring on sickness or other maladies, as stated in the second commandment on the sin of idolatry. “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” “Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”…So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home.” “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him…After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” (Ex. 20:5; Matt. 9:1-2,6-7; John 9:2-3,6-7) 

James draws to the importance of the saints praying for one another, and it may be that they were discussions on sinning and who may have sinned. It was here James asked each other to pray and confess their sins one to another so that they could be healed. It is the acts of transparency and submission before each other and God. For they cannot forgive sins as Jesus does but they can ask for forgiveness for the sins they committed or had committed upon them. “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Matt.6:12)

Application - My guess is that this is probably the number one type of prayer in the lives of most people. For we find our troubles, trials, and tribulations can come without notice, or they can mount up as huge as a mountain. The one constant in praying is that our God hears us, everytime. “For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?” (Duet. 4:7)

There is no trouble that God cannot reach to us  to help us. “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear is dull, that it cannot hear.” (Isa. 59:1)

So if you find yourself in troubles, trials, or tribulations, call out to God, for He is as near as a prayer away. And if He doesn’t respond to our prayers in the expediency that we desire, it may be that there is a lesson to be learned, or a refinement in our faith that needs to be honed and polished. For His will has our best interests at heart. “The LORD works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.” (Prov. 16:4)

Second, the prayer in happiness, I can say that this is one of my favorite prayers, to recall and praise my Lord and my God for his faithfulness and His goodness to me, and to others. It is said that we worship God because of who He is, and we praise God because of all His wondrous and marvelous works in creation, in His steadfast love, and His eternal promises for those that love Him. So let us pray with the joy and happiness of knowing our God is almighty, steadfast in love, and faithful to His Word, Will, and purpose.

Third, the prayer for healing is probably a close second to the prayer of trouble. Again I bring back the importance of God’s will. I know that there are those who believe that God is to heal everyone they pray for. It simply is not true in the scripture, for there were many at the pool of Bethesda who were not healed when Jesus healed the paralytic man, as one example. But God certainly hears our prayers when we pray. I found that I need to pray like the apostle John,  “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” (1 Jn. 5:14) And as in the Lord’s prayer, (thy will be done on Earth…). 

As Jesus taught us, let us continually and persistently pray. “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” (Luke 18:1) as well as Paul, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” “pray without ceasing” (Phil. 4:6, 1 Thes. 5:17)

As for the anointing with oil, it should be remembered that the true healing comes from God, not the oil. He has given us His Holy Spirit, who gives the gift of healing to who he determines and when he determines. “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” (1 Cor. 12:11)

God also looks at the earnestness of the faith, that we believe so we pray without doubting.

Last, praying for forgiveness and forgiving others. James may have taken a note out of Peter’s life when Peter asked, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive as many as seven times?” Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy-seven times.” (Matt.18:21-22) We are to pray for one another, and when it comes to sin, we must come and pray to God as David taught, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” Sin very well could be a contributing factor in our sickness, and we have a faithful Lord who will cleanse and forgive. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:8-9)

James now uses the humanity of Elijah as evidence of a righteous person who earnestly prayed. So let's read the last portion of the text, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. 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.”

For a short background, Elijah was called to be a prophet. He was a man who was among the settlers in Gilead (tishbite = settlers). God’s call of Elijah to serve as a prophet isn’t stated in the scripture, but that he began his calling during the time of king Ahab of Israel. In 1 Kings 17, He prayed according to the Lord’s will and words that the rain in Israel would be stopped for three and one half years. “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” “After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” (1 Kings 17:1; 18:1)

Elijah was a man who talked with God and obeyed God’s words and commands. As a man, he was susceptible to the same fears and emotions that any person would have, but he knew that God answered the prayers of an obedient and righteous person who trusted wholeheartedly in Him. It was in this context that James uses Elijah as an example of a righteous man who prayed earnestly and God heard and answered his prayer. 

James doesn’t come out and say that a person must pray according to the will of God as John did in his first epistle, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 Jn. 5:14-15) but James probably knew of how Jesus prayed according to the will of the Father.  “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt. 26:39b) And it was safe to assume James knew that all need to pray according to God’s will.

James knew that it was faith: the trust, confidence, and whole-hearted belief in Jesus that God honored. “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (James 1:6-8)

But when using Elijah as an example of a righteous man of prayer, he knew that Elijah followed the will of the Lord in His prayers and His proclamations always. 

Application - Elijah didn’t lead a pleasant life, but a fulfilled one. He knew trials and tribulations (the drought, the battle with the prophets of Baal, and the hiding out in the cave). In each of these, he trusted the Lord, the latter one, with a little timidity from depression. But in the end he had a spectacular homecoming. He should be an example for all of us to pray through in earnest, even when there will be those who would want to harm us, for again our God is watching over us at all times. “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Prov. 15:3)

So in confidence, and wholehearted faith let us approach the throne of the Lord with our needs, supplications, petitions, and praise.

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ for salvation. For Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. Thank you. http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com