Prayers of Faith that Work James 5:13-20
Who am I? James: Who was he? What was the point and purpose of the letter?
Where do you go when, to quote the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, your life gets “flipped-turned upside down”? What do you do? What’s your reaction when the rug is pulled out from under your feet? Out of nowhere you might be hit with depression; perhaps your marriage is falling apart; your grades aren’t as high as you’d hoped; something happens and your children no longer speak to you. What do you do, when your life gets “flipped-turned upside down”? What we need, is a Posture of Prayer.
In verse 13, James asked the question: “Are you suffering?” He used the Greek word Kakopathei which is incredibly broad. It literally means: “to suffer or endure hardships. It means to be afflicted. There’s no specific context in mind here; James was talking about widespread, general suffering. We all suffer, don’t we? It might be physical, emotional, financial, relational; the whole works! If you are suffering, pray. If you are suffering, pray! But how are we to pray? The theologian Douglas Moo suggests that “the prayer believers are to offer in such circumstances is not necessarily for deliverance from the trial, but for the strength to endure it faithfully.” In other words, pray for a stronger back to bear the burden! It’s true, God may deliver you from your suffering, but He may not. Instead, He may use these times to grow you. That’s certainly been my experience.
“Is anyone cheerful?” Here’s another broad question! Is there joy in your heart? Perhaps you’re deeply content with where God has you right at this very moment. These are the moments we live for; we want these moments to never end! Ultimately, this posture of contentedness is where God will slowly draw us to: in Philippians, the Apostle Paul told us, “for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” There’s peace in his heart! But in these moments, we often forget where this joy, peace and contentment comes from. So, what did James say? Praise. Bring praise to God for the gift He’s given you. Praise is a form of prayer. But how do you do that? You could sing a song of worship, or write in your journal, thanking God for all He’s done. Perhaps you read the Psalms and offer it up to God in prayer. I love Psalm 51. I’ll sing it, sometimes internally depending on the situation, in the tune from Keith Green:
“10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
James provided a third point: is anyone among you sick? Again, it’s a general statement and I don’t need to go into depth here. James’ point is clear. Whatever situation you’re in, pray and bring praise and glory to God. The way by which we pray can change, whether we include the eldership or not, James was imploring us to continue the relationship with our Maker. So, what is your attitude like? How can you bring a posture of prayer into your workplace, your home, sporting club, school or any other community?
In verse 15, James highlighted what brings healing in people’s lives. It’s not the gift of healing. It’s the gift of faith. Now what is faith?
(Hebrews 11:1) “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” It’s a deep-seated conviction, not just head knowledge, it’s within your heart. You know it to be true. And while we talk about faith a lot, we need to understand that the faith of a child is completely different to an adult’s. We go through stages – there are seasons of faith when we are intimate with God and seasons when we grow cold. Of course, that’s not what we desire, but it’s true! Think of doubting Thomas, the Apostle who wouldn’t believe Christ had resurrected until he touched Jesus’ pierced hands and side. In the Gospel of Matthew, right before the Great Commission, we read that “when they saw Jesus they worshiped him, but some doubted.” These were His closest followers! And yet some doubted. Even still, Jesus called them to go. If you have doubts, pray that God will strengthen your faith! Pray that He’ll give you the faith required to get you through the journey He’s planned for you.
In faith, will God raise up the people we pray for? Perhaps. If it is God’s will. When we have our moments of deep faith and connection with God, we’re seeking His will in everything. And this isn’t individualistic – I believe God will heal my mother, or brother, or whoever it is that’s close to us and struggling. It’s the community of elders; all present will feel the conviction and leading of the Holy Spirit to pray in faith, for that healing. If that is not present, then perhaps it is not God’s will for healing to occur. At the end of the day, what Jesus was all about was repentance – the healing of sin. His first words in the Gospel of Mark: “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Turn from sin. Your sins, where you fall short, will be forgiven through Christ’s work at Calvary.
We live in community. We’re a community of Jesus disciples. So, “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (verses 16-18)
Part of the spiritual journey, our walk with Christ, is being open to His Spirit and formation within our lives. To do that, we have to journey alongside others. And that requires vulnerability. Brené Brown tells us: “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage.” The fact of the matter is it can be scary talking about your deepest regrets and the darkest points in your life. Why? I think often it’s because we’re scared of how it will be received. Not only do we need the courage to be vulnerable within our community, but we need to ensure we’re a community that encourages and facilitates such vulnerability. When we provide a listening ear, without judgement or the desire to fix said person, that in and of itself can be an incredibly healing space. Are we, as the community of Chuwar Baptist Church, open to creating space for people to explore their past trauma and work together in our journey of becoming like Christ? Let’s pray for that! Let’s pray together!
When we’re in such a community, we notice when people start to grow cold. We notice when they’re drifting away. “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (verses 19-20) What are we here for? Is it for ourselves? Or is it for God, His Kingdom and His people? If we’re truly to become the kind of community where people are comfortable to be vulnerable with each other, where there is mutual love and respect, where new people feel welcomed into such a community, we’ll miss those who fall away. It starts slowly, they might miss a few weeks: give them a call, check in on them. The fact of the matter is that all of us can wander away, including church leadership. None of us are immune. We need to pray that God will continue to keep us in His care, in His community. If we fall away, the consequences are very real.
(Story about spending time with Reuben at Caloundra) At the end of the day, we were made for relationship with God and He has continually opened the door, seeking that from and with us!
Posture of Prayer. Spend time with your Father in Heaven. That’s what James was pointing us to!
Pray written on my hand. Should be Jesus!
Pray without ceasing.
Centring Prayer.
Pray the Psalms, bring praise!
Thank God for the good and the bad. Let’s be a welcoming community that earnestly seeks God’s will in all we do.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sunday’s message: Prayers of faith that work James 5
a. What do you think about the gift of healing, and why the Lord heals sometimes and not at others?
b. James brought out a number of requirements when we ask for a prayer of healing. What are they and why are they important?
c. Discuss the mention of Elijah the prophet and his nature and the relevance of James mentioning this man.
d. The greatest healing needed is healing from sin through the sacrifice of Jesus. Pray for our outreach on Sunday and the family fun day as well as our Easter services.