Title: The Power of Prayer
Text: James 5:13-18
FCF: We often struggle attempting to solve problems on our own.
Prop: Because God is gracious and merciful to His people as they seek Him, we must draw near to Him.
Scripture Intro: LSB
[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to James chapter 5.
If you’ve been thinking that the end of our study in the book of James has been hanging in the balance for a bit – you’d be right. There is always a certain measure of uncertainty over how sermons will break down the text and how many more are left. The epistle of James has been especially difficult with several two-part sermons recently.
Today’s sermon was almost a two parter as well – but I was able to trim down the sermon to fit into the time we have for today.
James will begin to close out his letter, although if we weren’t able to see the end of the letter we might not realize he was closing it out. Nevertheless, James has two more lacks he wants to bring to the attention of his readers. They are struggling in their current situation. They are suffering. And really – they don’t know what to do about it.
They are lacking discernment. What do I do about suffering? What do I do about sickness? Where do I go? How do I handle this?
James provides direction and guidance through an obvious but necessary answer.
I am in James 5. I’ll start reading in verse 13. I’m reading from the LSB, but you can follow along in the pew bible on page 1363 or in whatever version you prefer.
Transition:
People in counseling often tend to conclude that their situation is more severe or different than any person has ever faced before. It is this conviction or deception that causes them to feel hopeless as they attempt to survive something that, by their own reasoning, no one has ever faced. Certainly, there is specific advice for each situation that we can draw from the Words of scripture. And in each case, we can provide tailored guidance to lead people out of whatever situation they are in. However, no matter what the situation someone is facing, no matter what the problem, the solution to their problem is, in some ways, always the same. James is going to give the “go to” answer to all. And it is an answer we should heed.
I.) In every situation, God is loving and merciful to His people, so we must draw near to Him. (13-15)
a. [Slide 2] 13 – Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.
i. James leads this next section with 3 questions.
ii. If we were to summarize the questions in a statement, it would be, in whatever situation you find yourself.
iii. But that doesn’t mean that the 3 individual questions or situations have no bearing on what is discussed.
iv. Indeed, I think James hits on some of what his readers were struggling with the most.
v. He first asks, is anyone among you suffering? To suffer here would mean to suffer a misfortune, or hardship, or to be put into distress.
vi. No doubt with all his talk about the rich and the poor, not showing favoritism, and how they are to treat the poor – the poor may be wondering – so what about us? What are we to do?
vii. But we need not sharpen the meaning here too finely. Suffering could be of any kind. Any trial, test, or temptation really.
viii. Amid all the direction and guidance, we could find in all scripture, and with all my wisdom, I’m ashamed to say that I’m not sure I would have thought to advise them as James does.
1. I might have said, trust the Lord and He will care for you.
2. I might have said, call your brother or sister in Christ and let them know of your pain.
ix. But James commands the most important and most powerful first step in any suffering. Though it is often overlooked, forgotten, neglected, or ignored.
x. He commands them to pray.
xi. He has said in his letter that they do not have because they do not ask. Or because they ask to spend on their own passions. He has said that they will not receive if they ask in doubt.
xii. But requesting of the Lord, trusting He is the only giver of good and perfect gifts, fervently seeking Him and making a request of Him, in full submission to His sovereign will – should be the very first thing we do when in distress.
xiii. But how often is it the last resort?
xiv. How often when is the only option left, do we finally seek the Lord in prayer?
xv. Only when we are pinned under the great weight of sorrow and affliction do we finally pray through gritted teeth.
xvi. We say things like “we can still pray” or “all you can do is pray.”
xvii. We don’t mean anything nefarious by these things – but it reveals our hearts.
xviii. All we can do is pray? Friends, that is what we must do first. Before we know it is all we can do.
xix. How flippant we are with the throne of grace!
xx. Either we come unprepared and the command to come boldly is lost on us. Or we rarely come at all.
xxi. James commands it.
xxii. The sufferer MUST pray. Whatever else there is to do… He MUST pray. And He must pray first. He must pray often. And he must pray in faith, sincerely, and in the will of God.
b. [Slide 3] Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
i. The next situation could not be further from the first.
ii. Is anyone cheerful?
iii. This is not the spiritual gift of joy that smiles in faith through every circumstance. No. This is genuine good cheer. This is happiness.
iv. James asks – are you happy? Are you jovial? Are you encouraged? Are you in good spirits?
v. What is James’ advice? What is His command?
vi. Can I suggest to you that it is essentially the same as the previous command?
vii. It is not exactly the same. But it is very close.
viii. He does not command sadness. He does not command sobriety. He does not command that we hide our happiness from those who are less fortunate.
ix. He commands us to sing praise to God.
x. As we normally in suffering attempt to fix it ourselves first before prayer… so also in good cheer we tend to praise everything but God for our good fortune. How foolish, since He is Lord of all and the giver of every good and perfect gift.
xi. This is a command. My friends, singing praises to God is not optional. It is no less optional than praying. It is no less optional than bible study. It is no less optional than believing the gospel. My friends – singing praises to God should be a NORMAL part of our lives.
xii. I won’t say that you cannot listen to secular music.
xiii. I won’t say that you cannot listen to talk radio or podcasts.
xiv. But my friends – if you are not singing to the Lord praising His name… then you are disobedient to His Word.
xv. And broadly – James is saying the same thing to those who are happy as he said to those who are suffering. Go. To. God.
xvi. Take your sufferings and sadness to God. Take your happiness to God.
xvii. Might we say… draw near to God.
c. [Slide 4] 14 – Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the Elders of the church
i. Although we could interpret this as spiritual sickness, more likely James means physical sickness. Although that line gets a little blurry as we move forward.
ii. Other commentators point out that the level of sickness seems to be quite severe due to various details in the text. However, I don’t find these arguments compelling. James leaves in ambiguity what he could have made plain. The word for sick simply means weak. Not necessarily overcome.
iii. Should Elders be called when you have a cold? Should Elders be called when you skinned your knee? I don’t think so. It makes a lot of sense that the Elders would be called in more serious cases. But I also can’t make James say that if he doesn’t. So, it seems we are at an impasse.
iv. All we can clearly surmise is that if you are sick and feel the need – you must call for the Elders.
v. Again, James gives us a command that we might not expect.
1. Why not a reiterated command to pray?
2. Why not advise them call for a doctor? A Psychiatrist? A Pharmacist?
vi. No, none of those.
vii. They are commanded. That’s right, commanded to call for the Elders of the church.
viii. These aren’t elders in the sense of older or more seasoned people. Instead, these are the formal office of the church known as the Elder. The Spiritual leaders.
ix. Why?
x. Elders can’t possibly be any help to you when you are sick can they? They aren’t doctors!
xi. [Slide 5] There are two basic ways that James’ command to call for the Elders makes perfect sense.
1. The level of medical care available during the 1st century was imprecise, expensive, and sparse. Therefore, for James to refer his readers to a doctor would seem impractical.
a. This reason alone would not adequately explain why James does not include some sort of medicinal solution.
b. Medicine in the Roman world was actually quite advanced and in the relative time James writes this, some great strides were being made in medical treatment.
c. So, for James to suggest the Elders to come because there were no other options, is simply untrue. Those options would be difficult and expensive – but still there.
2. The second layer to this, which makes it all the clearer why James commands them to call for the Elders is simply because up until very recently, the sciences of medicine and theology were wed.
a. To be a healer would automatically require someone to be somewhat religious.
b. Medical facilities and physicians would often set up their practices near temples and shrines to various deities.
c. When we think of witch doctors and shamans – we ought not be consulting our map of the world and locate ourselves in the remote tribes of Africa or in some Island in the Asia Pacific.
d. My friends, religion and medicine are still treated as one and the same by the vast majority of the world and has been treated that way since the beginning of time.
xii. But before you start to scoff and think – but now we know better – perhaps we should read on in James and consider that… perhaps… medical and spiritual are more wed than they are separate.
d. [Slide 6] And they are to pray over him
i. Throughout this section, James has commanded the person who is in a situation to do something.
ii. Here he issues two commands.
iii. The first is that the person who is sick must call for the Elders.
iv. But not just for encouragement.
v. They are to come and pray over the sick person.
vi. This is actually a command to the Elders.
vii. It isn’t optional for a sick person to call for the Elders. And it isn’t optional for the Elders to pray over the sick when they’ve been called for. These are commands.
viii. But while the Elders are praying over them, they are to do something else.
e. [Slide 7] Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
i. What is the nature of this anointing with oil?
1. Although some commentators attempt to explain this in a medicinal sense, their arguments are shallow and unsupported by historical, cultural, and biblical evidence.
2. What is almost unanimously agreed upon is that anointing with oil is an Old Testament practice where someone is consecrated or set apart for a special work of God.
3. In this case, they are set apart to be worked upon by God.
4. The oil symbolizes the desire of the prayer of the Elders, that God would pour out His Spirit of Grace upon the individual as the oil has been spilled out over them.
5. As one commentator puts it, this is quasi-sacramental in the sense that there is hope that God will meet the sign and symbol.
ii. What does it mean to do something in the name of the Lord?
1. Does it mean with His backing? With His blessing?
2. Although these could be true – they are only the result of what this actually means.
3. To do something in the name of Jesus, in the name of the Lord, in the name of God – is to do it for the sake of God or Christ.
4. It is appealing not to the sick person’s need but to the relationship of God the Father to God The Son. It is to appeal to the unity of the Triune God or for the reputation of God Himself.
5. With that comes the authority and the beneficial outcome – but not because we prayed it that way but rather because it is for His sake and for His purposes.
f. [Slide 8] 15 – And the prayer offered in faith
i. Observe that even though the Elders prayed and anointed the sick person with oil, it is not the oil that yields any result, but rather, only the prayer of faith. This eliminates some sort of mystical connection to the oil that is divorced from God’s power or grace.
ii. But what is a prayer that is offered in faith?
iii. Is it a special kind of prayer by only those who are spiritually mature?
iv. Is it a higher quality prayer? Is that why they need to call in the Elders to do this prayer?
v. I do not think so and there are several reasons why but unfortunately, they don’t really come until verse 16.
vi. If we skipped verse 16 and went to 17 and 18, we might be convinced that spiritual leaders have more powerful and effective prayers than your average joe in the pew.
vii. But instead, what is actually true…
viii. Is that a person who is resolute in their faith, who believes thoroughly that God is Sovereign, that He has the power to answer any prayer that is made in His will, that He can move mountains and heal any sickness, and raise the dead to life, and forgive sin by the power of His will, A person who has a great big view of God and utter dependance on Him for everything… that is a person who is offering their prayer in faith.
ix. That is a person whose prayer will be heard.
x. And that should be Elders. It is kinda what you’d expect from Elders.
xi. But it isn’t exclusively Elders. And indeed, it shouldn’t be exclusively Elders.
xii. All believers should pray in faith without doubting.
xiii. But what can a prayer offered in faith do?
g. [Slide 9] Will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
i. What are we to do with this?
ii. Out of all the controversy in this text – this is by far the most perplexing!
iii. You see James doesn’t say that the prayer of faith CAN do something.
iv. He says that the prayer of faith WILL do something. Three somethings actually. The prayer of faith will:
1. Save the one who is sick
2. The Lord will raise him up
3. And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
v. [Slide 10] This passage, mishandled though it may be, is the direct proof for various false teachings.
1. The Roman Catholics conclude that confession of sin must only be to priests.
2. The Roman Catholics also see this as the sacrament of extreme unction or last rites. The prayer of faith saves, raises, and forgives the person so they are ready to die.
3. Jewish teaching at the time of Christ associated sickness or disability with a sin that was committed by the person or their parents.
4. Pentecostals see this verse as saying that God heals sickness and forgives sins EVERY SINGLE TIME it is prayed for in faith and if God does not heal us of sins, then it was not prayed in faith.
5. So Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Pentecostal theology draw much from this verse. And on the surface – it seems that they have a good point.
vi. So how should we address these false teachings?
1. Regarding the confession of sin only to Elders – I think we covered that already in understanding what the prayer of faith is. And we will see more to that point as we get into verse 16.
2. Regarding this being a last rite – the text is fairly clear that the “saving” and “raising” are actual physical concepts. Therefore, the sacrament of last rite actually assumes the opposite of what James is saying here. It assumes the person will NOT be raised up and is preparing them for the afterlife.
3. But what is the nature of sin and sickness? Is James saying that all sickness is the result of sin? Like the Pharisees assumed that the young man who was blind either sinned or his parents did?
a. Again, we must go back to the union between the sciences of medicine and theology.
i. Physical sickness can be a punishment for sin.
1. We saw this last week in those who blaspheme the Lord’s Table.
2. We also see this in church discipline where someone is devoted to Satan so he may be abused and hopefully repent.
ii. Physical sickness can be caused by sin.
1. We understand from modern science that certain sins can lead to physical manifestations.
2. Laziness, anger, bitterness, and worry and many more, can lead to all kinds of physical problems.
b. Nevertheless, James says “if he has committed sins.”
c. Therefore, this doesn’t mean that all sickness is caused by or associated with sin.
d. But we cannot eliminate sin as a cause entirely.
e. When the Elders come to minister to someone who is sick, they must come ready to pray and to counsel. They must come, potentially even to rebuke the person who is sick for a sin that they are committing.
4. For the Pentecostal view, there are so many arguments against it that I was forced to cut almost 500 words out of this sermon just to get to the meat of it.
a. If God is obligated to heal and raise anyone when the prayer is offered in faith,
b. And if they are not healed or raised it means that the prayer was not offered with enough faith…
c. We must simply ask – who is praying in this text? Is it the sick person or the Elders?
d. It is the Elders.
e. A Pentecostal preacher would NEVER suggest that he lacked faith and that is why a person was not healed. They ALWAYS say it was the deficient faith of the person who is sick.
f. This simple point alone upends their entire doctrine.
g. If the leaders do not have the faith necessary to heal, then no one would come to them to be healed. They know this. That is why they conveniently blame the deficient faith of the person who is sick.
vii. [Slide 11] So, if all these interpretations are wrong – what is the right one?
viii. The only path to true healing is through God. God is free to do what He pleases at that point. But our hope must be in prayer offered in faith. Meaning it is not the quality of our prayer or our faith to which we cling, it is instead the quality of the One to whom we pray and His faithfulness and lovingkindness. We must be dependent on Him and Him alone to heal us, raise us up from sickness and heal our sinful hearts too.
ix. James’ entire point in these 3 verses – is that no matter what situation you find yourself in… draw near to God. He is the only one who can save us from physical or spiritual pain. And He is the only one deserving of praise for physical or spiritual happiness.
h. [Slide 12] Passage Truth: James communicates very clearly that God is merciful and kind to His people. He desires to heal, raise up, and forgive us. He desires to help us in our suffering. And He desires to be trusted and praised for His lovingkindness to us.
i. Passage Application: Therefore, James’ audience must go to God in whatever situation they find themselves. In rejoicing, in suffering, in pain, in sin – they must draw near to God.
j. [Slide 13] Broader Biblical Truth: Does the bible teach the mercy and lovingkindness of the Lord? Friends, I could literally take the rest of our time proving this point this morning. We’d need to break for lunch and return to study this well into the evening. In fact, we’d need every moment of every day to study it deeply. [Slide 14] As the hymnwriter said:
i. “Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made
ii. Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade
iii. To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry
iv. Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.
v. O Love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
vi. It shall forevermore endure…”
vii. And he concludes by saying that the Love of God – His grace – His mercy shall forever be “The saints and angels’ song!”
k. [Slide 15] Broader Biblical Application: So CBC, how then shall we live? If God is so gracious and merciful to us – what shall we do when we find ourselves in any situation in all of life? Shall we not go to Him? What fools we are to delay to go! What fools we are to ignore His embrace. What blockheads we are to not avail ourselves of the throne of grace! Are you hurting? Are you sick? Are you troubled? Are you weak? Are you happy? Are you of good cheer? Are you overcome by sin? What must you do? Go. To. Him. Do not do so in doubt or in flippancy… but go to Him in faith. He will heal, He will raise up, and He will forgive.
Transition:
[Slide 16(blank)] But what if we are not the ones doubting the lovingkindness of God? What if it is a brother or sister who is struggling to come to Him. What shall we do then?
II.) God graciously works through the prayers of His people for one another, so we must draw near to Him. (16-18)
a. [Slide 17] 16 – Therefore,
i. Because God is worthy of our sincere petitions, our trust, our love, and our devotion…
ii. Because the prayer of faith in all that God is, is a means that God uses to heal us physically and spiritually.
iii. Because of this…
b. [Slide 18] Confess your sins to one another,
i. Here the idea that we must only confess our sins to Elders or priests is utterly dismantled.
ii. A person appears to be strong when they carry the load by themselves.
iii. Their prayer of faith can appear to be most pious if it is but one voice calling for healing.
iv. But this is not strength. It is weakness. It is not piety it is foolishness. It is not faith in God… but faith in their own faith in God.
v. Genuine faith not only recognizes that God is our only hope for healing and the only one due our praise… but true faith also recognizes our own weakness.
vi. True faith realizes that God has given us His church as a conduit for His love.
vii. Though we should be satisfied with Him, He knows we are weak. He knows we need something physical. Someone we can touch. Someone to whom we can speak.
viii. He has given us one another.
ix. Confessing our sins to one another not only affirms our weakness
x. But also…
c. [Slide 19] And pray for one another so that you may be healed.
i. When we share our infirmities and sins with one another we also exponentially increase those who offer up prayers of faith.
ii. The power of temptation is infinitely weakened when the sin is known publicly to all who will hold us accountable.
iii. And the holding power of the trap of sin, is all but gone when God’s people join together in earnest prayer on behalf of one another.
iv. There is nothing the forces of darkness fear more than a church united in prayer. A church with one voice weeping for the healing of each other. A church with one voice rejoicing with those who are of good cheer.
v. Pray for healing for one another. And watch as the Lord answers this prayer.
vi. And now and truism we must heed.
d. [Slide 20] The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
i. The easiest words to understand in this text are every word after the first two.
ii. None of us are righteous in and of ourselves. But all who are children of God have been declared righteous in Christ. His righteousness is our righteousness.
iii. To be righteous then, is to be a child of God.
iv. Great things can happen when God’s people pray without doubting.
v. But what does the word “effective” mean?
1. This is the word from which we get our English word – energy.
2. It means to be at work, to do what something is expected to do.
3. Very often in the New Testament this word is used to speak of supernatural power.
vi. If I were to translate this then, I would say, that the spiritually empowered prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
vii. When God acts in big ways, He often chooses to do so through and by empowering the prayers of His people to both fortify their faith and to do as He pleases.
viii. If we take that interpretation, we are left with exactly what James wants us to feel…
ix. The absolute need for God’s people to pray for one another about… everything.
x. James proves his case by referencing an Old Testament prophet.
e. [Slide 21] 17 – Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 – Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.
i. This too defeats the argument that only an Elder or Spiritual leader can pray with any hope for God to answer. Elijah, as James says, is only a man with a nature like us.
ii. Mere hours after Elijah prays this prayer, he is fleeing in terror from the presence of Jezebel.
iii. He is a mere human just like you and I.
iv. Yet, as a righteous man, he asked the Lord to keep it from raining in Israel for 3 and a half years. And it did not rain. He also asked after the prophets of Baal were defeated on Mount Carmel, that the Lord would send the rain. And He did.
v. God, when He wants to do BIG things, He acts through and empowers the prayers of His people.
f. [Slide 22] Passage Truth: James teaches that God has graciously given His church, a body of people who have been radically changed by His power, to love, support, and pray for one another. Further, He chooses to work through their prayers in powerful ways to build their faith, heal, raise up, and forgive sin.
g. Passage Application: The application for them is the same. They must go to Him. Not just in every situation, but even for one another. They must draw near to God on behalf of each other for physical and spiritual healing.
h. [Slide 23] Broader Biblical Truth: Does the bible teach all this? James has already shown that God chooses to use mere humans to do wonderous things through prayer. He makes the prayers of His people effective and powerful. God has established a people, a kingdom of priests, a royal priesthood, who loves and depends on Him not just for their own needs but for great and mighty works. This is shown from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. It is a theme that is consistent throughout the Scriptures.
i. Broader Biblical Application: So CBC, we must be the people that God desires us to be. We must go to Him not only in every situation in life on our own behalf – but also we must go to Him in every situation on behalf of one another. Further, we must pray expectantly and without doubting, knowing that our God is able to do anything we ask or think. That doesn’t mean He will – for He chooses freely what will and will not be. But we pray knowing that we cannot ask anything too great of God. We cannot ask for any good and perfect gift, that He is unable to give. Thus, throughout prayers that are full of faith, God often empowers great and mighty works. Even wondrous healings, people brought back from the brink of death – and yet the even greater work… of forgiveness of sin.
Conclusion:
[Slide 24 (end)] So, what have we learned today CBC, and how shall we live?
We have learned that God is abundantly merciful and loving to His people. That He desires often to heal, to raise, and to forgive those who seek Him in faith, trusting Him alone. We’ve learned that no matter what the situation and regardless of whether it is you or another brother or sister who is hurting or even if they are in a time of great cheer– the direction is always the same.
Seek the Lord. Go. To. Him. Draw near to Him.
This should be our first step… always. Various steps may follow depending on the situation we face – but the first step is always to draw near to God. It is to bring people to the Lord.
The title of this sermon is “The Power of Prayer.” Well, what is the power of prayer? Is it not the One to whom we pray?
God is the one who acts and empowers our prayers to do great and mighty things. He does this to build our faith. Do you not feel a fresh spark of faith and hope in the Lord when prayers are answered? God doesn’t have to do this. He could work without our prayer or in spite of it. But He chooses to work in it. Why? Because He loves us and He wants our faith in Him to grow.
With a God like that… why are we so lax in coming to Him? Why do we thank Him so little? Why do we pray so infrequently? Why do we not pray for one another?
Even with James concluding just a few verses ago that God is Sovereign over every single atom – He still commands us to pray and to pray for one another. God will do what He wills – this is true – but the God who is the Sovereign ruler over all, who has written everything that will be, whose plans will not be thwarted by humans, that same God desires greatly to empower our prayers to do mighty things!
The core of it all – the essence of this message – is our great need to draw near to God.
You could walk into my counseling office and before you even tell me what is wrong – I could safely and effectively advise without hearing any of your plight – Draw near to God. I could then pray and continue to pray for you without ever hearing a word of your problem – that the Lord would heal you, raise you up, and forgive your sin. And I would be doing exactly what the Lord desires. And without me every knowing what you were experiencing - the Lord can, may, and often does empower our prayers to accomplish great things.
The prime advice. The primer guidance that James could give concerning any lack of any kind is simply this…
Draw near to God. Seek Him desperately. Love Him earnestly.
In any situation terrible or cheerful – Seek the Lord.
For yourself and for other believers – Seek the Lord.
