There was once a man who owned a GREAT DANE-and this Great Dane was not only extremely large-he was also a very ferocious dog. Picture him in your mind as sort of a “mean Marmaduke.” He was a huge muscular animal with jaws of iron, a mouth full of sharp teeth-seemingly invincible. He was definitely not the kind of dog you would want jumping up in your lap. Well, one day the owner of this monster of a dog took him for a walk. Actually, I’m not sure who was walking who-but as they strolled through the neighborhood he saw another man across the street who was also walking his dog. However, unlike the Great Dane, THIS DOG was little. He had short legs, a pug-like head, and no tail. He had no hair-and instead his squat body was covered with green leathery skin. In short, he was a very ODD looking dog-and compared to the GREAT DANE he appeared to be very weak and powerless. The owner of the GREAT DANE was staring at this other little dog when the GREAT DANE-who had been looking the other way growling at a little old lady-this GREAT DANE suddenly turned his huge head and caught his first sight of this odd little dog. Well, the Dane immediately strained against the leash until it snapped in two. Then he charged across the street at top speed obviously intending to attack this odd-looking little K-9. The owner of the Great Dane yelled to the man across the street, “LOOK OUT! My dog is on the loose and he’s vicious! He will kill you and that little dog of yours! RUN for your life!!!!” But, it was too late-the GREAT DANE was already at top speed, teeth bared but when he leaped to attack, the odd little dog bared its teeth and simply opened his mouth unbelievably wide and SWALLOWED the Great Dane whole. Then he began smacking his lips in satisfaction as if he had just enjoyed a great meal. Well, that was the end of that big, mean GREAT DANE. The owner of the GREAT DANE was absolutely astonished by what he had just witnessed. And he said to the other man, “What kind of dog is that?! I’m a real expert on dogs and I have never seen a little dog that could do what your little dog just did!” Then man replied, “Dog? What dog? This is not a dog. Before he got his nose run over by a truck and his tail cut off by a train, this used to be an ALLIGATOR!”
I share this little story to illustrate the fact that appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes things that we think are little or insignificant or weak-are actually VERY powerful.
And a great example of this principle is seen in the spiritual discipline of PRAYER. You see, many people-you and me included-tend to underestimate the POWER of prayer.
And doing so is a big mistake because PRAYER is the key to accessing the most powerful force in the entire universe. You see, our almighty God’s unlimited power flows primarily to and through people who pray. Someone has rightly said, “When we work WE work but when we PRAY, GOD works!” His supernatural strength is made available to praying people who take their burdens to Him because they are convinced at the core of their being that God can and will make a difference. You know, it has been said that, as wonderful as his sermons were, John Wesley’s PRAYERS changed the face of England far more than his PREACHING did and I’m sure that is true.
Now, skeptics may argue that answered prayers are only coincidences, but as one English archbishop once observed, “It’s amazing how many coincidences occur when one begins to pray.” And, the Bible is full of “coincidences” like this in the lives of God’s people-stories of amazing happenings that prove the unimaginable power of prayer. For example: Abraham prayed and a nation was born from the seeds of two senior citizens-an elderly couple that had to stop by the maternity ward on their way to the retirement home! As James points out, 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. I mean, the sun hung 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!
And prayer is still just as powerful today.
Prayer 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-In fact, prayer can handle any kind of difficulty, dilemma or discouragement. Now in our day and age-with amazing new scientific discoveries every day-it is hard for many of us to believe that prayer can in fact be that powerful. But it is! Prayer can be infinitely powerful-because as John Welsh once put it, “Prayer-is the slender nerve that moves the muscles of omnipotence.” In short, our all-powerful God acts as a result of our prayers. The awesome Prayer Warrior Watchman Nee put it this way, “Though we do not know the reason why—we nevertheless know that God will not act independently. If the people of God fail to show sympathy towards Him, by yielding their will to Him and expressing their one mind with Him in prayer, He would rather stand by and postpone His work”
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.” 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.” The amazing truth is that God wants us to cooperate with Him through prayer and He will not act through us without it!
Now, why would almighty God do this? Why would He wait on our prayers?
Well it is because He created us for fellowship with Him. We were made to partner with Him in His work! This is what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 3:9 when he refers to us as, “God’s fellow workers.” God wants that kind of relationship with you and me. He’s also our Father so He wants to hear what we have to say. In fact, He is waiting for us to call to share our lives with Him and to ask for His help and guidance. You know when my dad was living he used to love to help me with anything-especially those dilemmas that came with being a new pastor. My dad had over 40 years experience in this job and he took great pleasure in coming to my aid when I asked Him. In fact, 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 see his library! But my dad would not help me. He would not assist me. He would not make those resources available to me-UNLESS I ASKED HIM. Dad would not ACT until I ASKED. He was always ready to come to my aid, but he kept his wisdom and resources to himself until I asked for his help. Well 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 listens to our prayers and acts powerfully according to them!?
Well, James was very familiar with the power of prayer. In fact, you may remember my telling you when we began this study that he was given the nickname “Camel Knees.” Apparently his knees were enlarged and calloused because he spent as much time on his knees as he did on his feet. Well, this great prayer warrior of yesteryear closes his letter by citing five times in life when we can and should tap into the power of prayer. Take your Bibles now and turn with me to James 5 and let’s read about these times in 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, this morning I want us to look closely at these five instances in which James says we should pray, and the first is this:
1. James says we should pray-when we are DISTRESSED.
I’m referring to 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 relational conflict with someone close to us that is breaking our heart-or some other fear-inducing difficulty.
Well, James says when we are distressed about things like this-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. Don’t get discouraged and defeated. Instead talk to God about it. Ask for His perspective and help. This is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 4:6-9 when 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.”
We should remember that Jesus set the example for us in this. When He was in distress-when He was anxious-He prayed. The Bible records the fact that on the night of His arrest in the Garden of Gesthemane Jesus said He was “overwhelmed with sorrow, even to the point of death.” (Matthew 26:37) In essence Jesus told God, “It brings me great anxiety to think of what is ahead….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 respond to 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, 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!”
So, when it looks like 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. 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 panic.
You know, personally, I hate fear and anxiety-because there’s never a button to push to make it go away. It is an enemy that I can’t put my hands on. It’s like fighting a shadow. Well, I have learned the hard way, that God CAN put His all powerful hands on my fear! He can defeat even my elusive anxiety-no matter what it’s source. 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 my panic-I lose the battle and anxiety and distress wins. But when I pray-when I lift my problems to God, I win-with His help together we defeat fear and distress. You know, 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 face in life.
Let me ask you. How many of you have faced a hopeless situation and after you prayed felt a little less hopeless? How often have you faced something that caused you great fear and after you prayed felt a little less afraid? How many of you have faced a dilemma where you did not know where to turn but after you prayed you felt a little less uncertain? This is because prayer does change the way we look at our trials and tribulations. We see them the way God sees them. In his book on the spiritual disciplines, Richard Foster 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.”
So James says we should pray when we are distressed but he also says we should pray…
2. …when we are HAPPY.
This is what he is talking about 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 here. You see, too many times we only pray when things are bad-when we are distressed-and then when life get’s better, we forget all about God. Bill Hybels points out that people tend to stop praying when the seas of life are calm. It’s human nature. When the storms are raging and the waves are breaking over the deck of life, everyone on board is praying like crazy; 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 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.”
3. And then the third 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. 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-this week I learned that the specific Greek term used in James 5:14 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. 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.
Also-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 be taken while 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. Many faith healers today teach that God wants to heal everyone and that all that limits His healing power is our lack of faith. Well, 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.
And this leads to a fourth time James says we should tap into the power of prayer….
4. …namely, 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.
You know, 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.
You see, closeness and confession force out evil doing. Nothing is more supportive of right behavior than open truth. Also-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…”
5. The final example James gives of the power of prayer is 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. Well, James used this word in reference to Christians who had strayed from the truth of God. We used to call these people “backsliders.” James says we must not be like those people who seem to feel called to a “ministry of criticism.” You know, 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. 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. 1 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. It made shy Moses into a bold leader. It softened the cruel heart of Pharaoh. It kept discouraged, depressed Elijah from quitting. It turned the fanatical persecutor Saul into a globe-trotting apostle. It changed Peter from a cowardly disciple to an emboldened martyr. All this happened-because prayer changes people. So we never give up praying for them-no matter how far they stray from God’s truth.
So James says we should tap into the power of prayer when we are distressed, when we are happy, when we are sick, when we are sinning, and when fellow Christians stray from the truth of God. But you know what James is REALLY saying is that there is no circumstance in which we cannot and should not call on the Lord-no time in which we should not tap into the power of prayer. I hope that here at Redland we will always be people who BELIEVE IN and REGULARLY ACCESS the power of prayer.
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. As we stand and sing, won’t you come and share these or other decisions with me? You may just want to come forward this morning to pray. We have deacons available who would be glad to do just that. Won’t you come as God leads?
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