If you’ve ever taken any undergraduate courses you know that colleges and universities give NUMBERS to the classes they offer. Usually, the lower the number—the more basic the class level. For example, “Math101” would probably involve addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions—the basics. “Math 201” might focus on more advanced math like algebra and trigonometry. “Math 301” would go even higher up the complexity scale into Calculus and so on. I mention this because I tend to think of the last part of James’ little book as “Prayer 101” in that he uses these final verses to teach his readers some of the basics of prayer basics like an understanding of the power of prayer and when we ought to tap into that power.
James is the perfect professor for this class because if you remember he was so dedicated to prayer—so experienced in prayer—that he was given the nick-name “Camel Knees.” In the same way that you can recognize a man who is familiar with manual labor by the callouses on his hands, James was recognized as someone familiar with prayer by the callouses on his knees.
In short, James was a Christ-follower who fully embraced this blessed discipline and we see his passion for it in the fact that he talks about prayer repeatedly in his little book. Remember? In the fifth verse of his very first chapter he said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” In chapter 4 verse 2 he said, “You do not have because you do not ask.” And now in his closing words he returns to this theme one last time.
Perhaps as his letter came to an end, James realized that he needed to give more detailed instructions about this important discipline. After all, in his “ultimate how-to” manual James had dealt with several practical issues of the Christian walk and he knew by experience how important it is that we learn HOW TO PRAY. The great evangelist Dwight L. Moody understood this as well and once commented that he would rather learn to pray than preach. He said, “After all, Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, but He did teach them how to pray.” James continues this teaching given by his half-brother because he knew how powerful prayer can be. He had seen its power firsthand in the church he pastored in Jerusalem. Remember—Acts 2 tells us that the members of that church were devoted to, “…the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to PRAYER…” James saw that because of this devotion, “…everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” One of those miraculous signs was when Peter was freed from prison by the angel—freed as a result of the church’s praying.
The fact is God’s Word is full of stories of that prove the unimaginable power of prayer. Here are a few examples: Abraham prayed and a nation was born from the seeds of two senior citizens. Because of prayer an elderly couple had to stop by the maternity ward on their way to the retirement home! Elijah prayed and it didn’t rain for three years. He prayed again and God’s cooling rains came down. Joshua prayed and God stopped the earth’s rotation making the sun appear to hang in the same place in the sky for hours until the battle was won—all because of a prayer. David prayed and his horrendous sins of lust, murder, and adultery were forgiven. Hezekiah prayed and his life was lengthened!
Thinking of stories like these Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers, once said: “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, assuaged diseases, dispelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.” Listen. We must never underestimate the power of prayer because our almighty God’s unlimited power flows primarily to and through people who pray. His supernatural strength is made available to praying people who take their burdens to Him—people who are wise enough to know that God can and will make a difference.
This week I came across the testimony of Benjamin Kwashi, the Anglican archbishop of Jos, Nigeria. Benjamin said that Jos, the city in Nigeria where he serves has been rocked by sectarian violence for years, primarily between Christians and Muslims. There have been endless cycles of violence and vengeance and hundreds of people killed. His family had experienced this violence because in March of 2009, a gang of people broke into the bishop’s house to kill him. He wasn’t home, but his wife was. The members of the gang did unspeakable things to her. Then they beat her and left her for dead. Benjamin found her alive when he returned home, but she spent most of the following year in recovery. Then, a year to the day after this gang beat her, in March of 2010, the gang came back. They broke into his home again, and this time they did find Benjamin. They dragged him out of his house, and they were about to kill him. They had machetes and clubs but as they raised them to end his life Benjamin asked for just a moment to pray. They agreed and he knelt there on the dirt and began to pray. A moment later he felt someone holding his hand. He looked up, and it was his wife. Can you imagine the courage of that woman?! She could have run, but instead she broke through this line of the same people who had attacked her a year ago and knelt with her husband to pray with him, knowing that by doing this her life was over as well. And then a moment later, Benjamin felt someone holding his other hand. He looked, and it was his teenage son. Benjamin begged his son to leave so that he wouldn’t be killed as well. And his son said, “Father, they’ve all left. They’re all gone.” Why did the men leave? I believe it was because the faithful, obedient praying of this Godly couple displayed the power of God—and that power was such that the servants of the adversary fled before it.
Prayer is powerful! It can change circumstances and relationships. It can help us face life’s daily struggles. It can heal psychological and physical problems, restore a breaking or even broken marriage, meet financial needs. It can bring a peace that passes understanding even in the midst of uncontrollable panic. Prayer can handle any kind of difficulty, dilemma or discouragement.
Think of it! God is willing to put Himself in the position of taking delight in fulfilling His will through us—when we pray! This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Ask and it shall be given you…knock and the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7) And then, remember when He told Peter, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven?” (Matthew 18:18)
Now, why would almighty God do this? Why would He wait on our prayers?
It is because He created us for fellowship with Him. Just as Adam and Eve were made to work with God in His Garden of Eden, we were made to partner with Him as He works in our world!
This is what Paul is talking about in 1st Corinthians 3:9 when he refers to us as, “God’s fellow workers.” God wants that kind of relationship with you and me. Plus, He’s our Father so He WANTS to hear what we—His children—have to say. He wants a relationship with us. In fact, like an earthly dad He is waiting for us to call to share our lives with Him and to ask for His help and guidance.
When my dad was living he used to love to help me with anything—especially those dilemmas that came with being a new pastor back in 1997 when I took this job. My dad had over 40 years of pastoral experience and he took great pleasure in coming to my aid when I asked Him. In fact, when I called he’d drop whatever he was doing to give me his guidance—whether it was how to do a funeral or wedding—or how to interpret a particular passage of Scripture or how to deal with a difficult counseling situation. And dad had unbelievable RESOURCES. You should have seen his library! In fact you CAN. All you have to do is come to my study because many of my books were his. I inherited them when he completed his life in 2002. But when he was still living on this earth my dad would not help me—he would not assist me—he would not make those incredible resources available to me—UNLESS I ASKED HIM. Don’t get me wrong. Dad was always ready to come to my aid, but he kept his wisdom and resources to himself until I asked for his help.
It is the same with our Heavenly Father. Scripture teaches that God is listening closely hoping to hear our voices directed toward Him in prayer—ready and willing to put His power and wisdom at our disposal. In the book of Revelation John describes Heaven as a place where millions of awesome things happen at once. He depicts incredible constant activity in Heaven—describing it an unbelievably busy place. But then in chapter 8 everything stops as an angel brings forth a golden pan of incense that represents the prayers of all God’s people. Max Lucado describes what happens next like this: “Every song ceased. Every being of the heavenly city hushed. The noise stopped. A sudden stillness fell like a curtain. Why? Why did the Lamb lift His hand for silence? Why did the silver trumpet voices hush? Because someone was praying. Heaven paused, and Heaven still pauses to hear the prayers of someone. A mother for her child…a pastor for a church…a doctor for the diseased. A counselor for the confused….all of Heaven stops in silence to hear the prayers of God’s people.” Imagine that! No matter how seemingly trivial your prayer might be, the Bible says that all Heaven stops to hear it! Isn’t that amazing?! Isn’t it wonderful to know that almighty God wants us to talk to Him—listens to our prayers and acts powerfully according to them!?
This knowledge magnifies the sadness of the fact is too many of us fail to access this power. Too many of us don’t talk to God as often as we should. Swindoll writes, “Far too many Christians fill their lives with dizzying activities, leaving no time for this crucial ingredient that can transform mere human actions into divine acts of power. And like a car without fuel, life without prayer grinds to a halt. Like a lamp without electricity, the prayer-starved Christian fails to shine in a dark and desperate world.”
Well, as I said, James, this great prayer warrior of yesteryear, closes his letter by giving us some important prayer basics. He cites five times in life when we can and should tap into the power of prayer. With that in mind, take your Bibles now and turn with me to James 5 and let’s read verses 13-20.
13 – Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone of you happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
14 – Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 – And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 – Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17 – Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
18 – Again he prayed and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 – My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
20 – remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Okay, when does James say we should pray?
(1) First, he says we should pray—when we are DISTRESSED.
Look at verse 13 where he says, “Is any one of you IN TROUBLE? He should pray!” Now, the word we translate as “trouble” or “suffering” literally means “distress.” Basically, it refers those times we feel great anxiety about something in life—a financial situation where we’re afraid because we don’t know how we’ll be able to pay all our bills or a serious health issue—one of those diagnoses that keeps us awake at night or a relational conflict with someone close to us that is breaking our heart—basically ANY fear-inducing difficulty.
Well, James says when we are afraid about things like this. When we are distressed—when we’re wringing our hands in panic because we don’t know what to do—we should PRAY! In other words, James says don’t go through it alone. I’m reminded of one of the sayings we often put on our marquee. “Don’t stay up all night counting sheep—talk to the Shepherd.” James says that’s what we should do when we are afraid. We should talk to our Abba about it. We should pour our hearts out to Him asking for His perspective and help. Paul agreed. In Philippians 4:6-9 he said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
One MOTIVATION to pray in fearful times like this is the fact that Jesus did. When He was in distress—when He was anxious—He prayed. Remember? On the night of His arrest in the Garden of Gesthemane, just hours before the crosss, Jesus said He was “…overwhelmed with sorrow, even to the point of death.” (Matthew 26:37) In essence Jesus said, “It brings me great anxiety to think of what is ahead…so if there is any other way, let this cup pass from Me.” (Matthew 26:39)
Well, if you ever feel that way—scared to death—so anxious that you can’t get through some trial, then follow Jesus’ example and pray because our God is able—sovereignly able—to deal with those things that cause us fear, no matter how big and scary they may seem. Let’s put it this way—if creating planets and stars and galaxies aren’t a problem—if stilling the storm wasn’t a problem, if resurrecting His Son Jesus from death was not a problem, well then, no matter what it is your problem is not too big a problem for our almighty, all-loving God to deal with. Remember—Jesus said as much: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart—I have OVERCOME the world!” (John 16:33) So, when everything is against us—when we are terrified because it looks like we can’t possibly win—when it looks like it is the end and we are about to be overwhelmed—we need to remember that prayer changes things because prayer releases God’s power. That power may come in the form of wisdom—an idea you desperately need but couldn’t come up with by yourself, like a sermon outline or illustration! It may come in the form of courage greater than you can muster on your own—or in the form of a calm peace even in the midst of your anxiety. It may come in a change in the weather like what happened at our Block party last week, when God answered our prayers by stopping the rain from 4PM until nearly 8PM so our party could go on as scheduled. Or, that power may come in a tangible awareness of God’s PRESENCE—that calming, blessed assurance that we are not alone in our distress.
Back in my youth ministry days I had this picture hanging in my office that showed Jesus standing next to two teenagers. As you can see, the teens are obviously distressed—saddened about something—and Jesus has His arm around him. The message it conveys is that our Lord was with those youth. Well, I can relate because numerous times I have been distressed about something or other—and when I prayed I felt as if God’s hand was on my shoulder. I felt Him near me and realized that as David said, “God is a very PRESENT help in time of trouble—therefore we will NOT fear.” (Psalm 46) Do you remember the story in the Old Testament where the Hebrew people were fighting against the armies of their enemies—and Moses went up on a hill overlooking the battlefield to pray? The Bible says that as long as Moses lifted his arms toward Heaven in prayer, the Hebrew people prevailed in battle but when he stopped, the enemy prevailed. So Moses had two men to come and each held up one of his arms toward Heaven and he continued to pray and when the day was done, the Hebrew people were victorious.
Well, that’s the way I have found it to be in my life. When I walk around with my hands in my pockets focused on self—when I’m prayer-less in the midst of panic—I lose the battle and distress wins. But when I pray—when I lift my problems to God, He comes near and with His help together we defeat fear and distress.
One reason prayer helps in distressful times is that it makes it possible for us to see our personal nightmares from God’s all-powerful PERSPECTIVE. In prayer our eyes are opened and our fears are dispelled as we begin to see that God is infinitely bigger and stronger than any “giant” we fact in life. Let me ask—how many of you have faced a hopeless situation and after you prayed felt less hopeless? How often have you faced something that caused you great fear and after you prayed felt less afraid? How many of you have faced a dilemma where you did not know where to turn but after you prayed you felt less uncertain? This is because prayer does change the way we look at our trials and tribulations. We begin to see them more from God’s perspective. Richard Foster refers to this in his book on prayer. He writes: “In real prayer we begin to think God’s thoughts after Him. Progressively we are taught to see things from His point of view.”
(2) And then a second time James says we should pray—is when we are SICK.
In verses 14 and 15 James is referring to people in severe illness—people who are sick to the point of death—and he gives us specific directions as to what we are to do. He says we are to call the elders—the maturing Christians in our church. They are to come, “…to pray over the person and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
Now—the specific Greek term James uses here for “anointing” does not convey the thought that we usually ascribe to it—namely a religious ceremony in which oil is applied to the head. No—here it literally means “to apply or to rub something into the skin.” This Greek term was used in those days to describe plastering walls—smearing something onto something else—and here it refers to smearing—rubbing—oil on a wound. You see in Biblical times, oil was used on the sick—for its medicinal affects. They would use wine to cleanse the wound and oil to soothe and protect it. We find this in Luke 10:34 when the Samaritan poured oil and wine onto the wounds of the man victimized by robbers and left for dead. So James is not talking about ceremonial anointing here. Instead he is calling for the use of the best medical procedure of the day: simply rubbing or massaging oil into the body—along with prayer. James says when we are sick we should use all known medical means to heal the individual and at the same time pray. In other words, medicine and prayer are to go together. I have to say—most GOOD hospitals acknowledge this fact by providing parking spaces for ministers use, encouraging them to come and pray with and for patients before and after surgery.
Another thing James says here is that all this is all to be carried out “ in the name of the Lord” and this Greek phrase is synonymous with the WILL of the Lord. In other words, our prayers for the sick are to include saying, “Lord, I invoke Your will—Your name—in this situation.” We are to pray and then leave the situation in God’s hands. And the truth is sometimes it is NOT God’s will to heal a person. There are people who teach that God wants to heal everyone and that all that limits His healing power is our lack of faith. But the Bible does not teach this. In fact much of the New Testament cites examples of people of great faith who prayed for God’s healing and it did not come. For example, it is likely that Paul was never healed from his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7) even though he asked God three times to take it away. When God chooses—when it is His will—when He knows it is best for all involved—the prayers of elders will be answered and sick persons will be healed. And God always knows what is best—we must trust Him in this.
(3) A third time James says we should pray is when we are SINNING.
Look at verses 15-16. “If he has sinned He will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” James is saying that when we sin, we show that our repentance is sincere by going to a fellow Christian and telling them what we have done. We are then to pray for our errant brother or sister. Now, why do we need to do this? I mean, confessing our sins to God is all that is required for us to be forgiven. The Bible clearly teaches that. Well—James is not talking about our forgiveness here. He is talking about our HEALING—our RESTORATION. And he knows that one way we can be restored—one way we can be healed and freed from the power of a particular sin is to share our shortcomings with someone who will hold us accountable.
It is said that confession is good for the SOUL but bad for the REPUTATION—so understand me here, I’m not talking about sharing our sin with the entire world—just with a few mature Christians, close friends, who we know will keep our confidences and will pray with and for us.
The baring of our souls to a mature friend in Christ enables them to pray for specific problems and to do those things that may be most helpful and redemptive to the one confessing. Dallas Willard writes, “Confession alone makes DEEP fellowship possible and the lack of it explains much of the superficial quality so commonly found in our church associations.” Confession brings our sin into the light—it exposes it for what it is—rebellion against God—and we will be less likely to sin again as long as we know someone else knows what we have done. This is what Jesus was talking about in John 3 when He said, “…men loved darkness instead of light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light…”
(4) This leads to a fourth example James gives of the power of prayer—when that power is directed toward friends who are STRAYING from the truth.
The Greek word for “stray” here in verse 19 is “planethe” and it means “to wander away.” It was used in New Testament times to describe someone lost in the mountains who had missed the path and consequently had ended up at the wrong destination—separated, alone, and lost. James used this word in reference to Christians who had strayed from the truth of God. We used to call these people “backsliders.”
Understand—James says we must not be like those people who seem to feel called to a “ministry of criticism.” I’m talking about those guys and gals whose primary concern is to nail those Christians who are lost in their sins—people who are quick to point the finger and slow to show a sensitive heart. We are not to be like them. Instead we are to PRAY for these backsliders and DO all we can to bring them back. The Bible teaches that NOT to do this is wrong. As 1st Samuel 12:23 says, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in CEASING to pray for you.” We never give up on someone—because we know that prayer changes people.
Bill Hybels tells of a time after a baptismal service at his church that he encountered a young woman in the stairwell who was crying. He thought this was odd because the baptismal service had been so joyful. He asked if she was alright and she said, “No, I’m struggling. My mom was baptized today. I prayed for her every day for almost 20 years. The reason I’m crying is because I came THIS CLOSE to giving up on her. At the 5-year mark I said, ‘Who needs this? God isn’t listening.’ At the 10-year mark I said, ‘Why am I wasting my breath?’ At the 15-year mark I said, ‘This is absurd.’ At the 19-year mark I said, ‘I’m just a fool.’ But I just kept trying—kept praying. Even with weak faith I kept praying. Then she gave her life to Christ and was baptized today. I will never doubt the power of prayer again.”
What about you? Is there someone you are praying for and you feel like quitting? Don’t!
Okay—to review. James says we should pray when we are distressed, and when we are sick and when we are sinning and when a brother needs restoring.
(5) But he also says we should pray when we don’t have problems like these. James says we are to pray when we are HAPPY.
This is what he is talking about back in verse 13 when he says, “Is any one happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” You see prayer and praise are closely related. Actually a song of praise is a form of prayer. And don’t’ miss the point James is making. Too many times we only pray when things are bad but then when life gets better we forget all about God. I mean, the truth is people tend to stop praying when the seas of life are calm. It’s human nature. When terrorists attack; when the phone call comes in the middle of the night; when the boss warns you that your job is up for grabs; when the doctor says it doesn’t look good; When your spouse tells you someone ELSE is starting to look good; In crisis times like these we all pray fervently, repeatedly, hopefully, if not desperately. But then when the storm passes and the seas of life settle down and God has proved Himself faithful one more time, a big part of our motivation for fervent prayer subsides. Well this understandably affects the heart of God. He is not beyond the kind of feelings that a parent experiences, like, for example, when the only time a child calls home from college is when he or she runs out of money, or the only time your children seem interested in what you have to say is when they need help with their homework. God is not beyond feeling USED by His sons and daughters. In the Old Testament, God traces His kindness to the children of Israel. He says in essence, “Every time you got in a jam and you prayed for divine intervention, every time you needed protection and guidance and you pleaded for eleventh-hour rescues, I came through. Then after the storm passed YOU REMEMBERED ME NO MORE. You don’t talk to Me much once the storms pass.”
Well James is saying that we must not make this same mistake. He saying, if we truly love and honor God we will pray our prayers of praise as much as our prayers or HELP! We’ll follow the example of David who wrote in Psalm 34, “I will extol the Lord at ALL times. His praise will always be on my lips.” How many of you have ever called on THE GEEK SQUAD for help with a computer problem? I know I have—repeatedly. Well, the word “geek” is not a complimentary term. It’s slang for a person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy a person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially incompetent. If you have a problem with your computer, cell phone, gaming device, or television, that’s when you really want a geek around. But you don’t usually want to share life with them. You just want them handy when you need their skills. Well, I think we often treat God in the same way that people treat the geeks of the world. When there’s a problem we can’t talk to Him enough.
But when things are going well we ignore Him like the wall-flowers at a high school dance. In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis described approaching God like this. At a young age, when he learned that his mother was dying, Lewis remembered that he had been taught that prayers offered in faith would be granted. When his mother eventually died, Lewis prayed for a miracle. Later, he wrote: “I had approached God, or my idea of God, without love, without awe, even without fear. He was, in my mental picture of this miracle, to appear neither as Savior nor as Judge, but merely as a magician; and when He had done what was required of Him I supposed He would simply—well, go away. It never crossed my mind that the tremendous contract which I solicited should have any consequence beyond restoring the status quo.”
Listen. Anytime we expect God to fix our problems, restore the status quo, and then go away so we can live without Him, we’ve treated God like a geek. Have you ever done that? James says DON’T! Yes—pray when you are distress—but keep praying when you are not! Pray when you’re sick—but also when you’re well. Pray when you or a friend have strayed but keep praying when you’re all following God closely. In short, pray all the time. Pray ceaselessly.
You know, the greatest example of prayer’s power is the change that comes over a person who decides to become a Christian, someone who prays, asking God to forgive their sin, inviting Jesus into their life as Savior and Lord. E. M. Bounds reminded us of this when he said, “Salvation never finds its way to a prayer less heart. The Holy Spirit never abides in a prayer-less spirit.” This morning if you are here and you are not a Christian then I urge you to let the power of prayer change you, right here and right now. Jesus offers that change. The Bible says that “If—When any man is in Christ—he is a NEW creature. Old things have passed away. Behold all things have become new.” Will you let God make you NEW today? He will. All you have to do is PRAY! If you don’t have a church home—this morning I urge you to pray and ask God if it is His will for you to join our church. You may just need to pray with me this morning. As we stand and sing, won’t you come and share these or other decisions with me?