Faith Prays

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, 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. 17 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. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

While suffering was the major theme last week, prayer will be James’ focus in verses 13-18. You’ll notice it is mentioned in every verse.

There is a proper response to God for every season of life. (13-14)

There is a proper response for every season of life. (13-14)

(13) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. (14) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him,

The way in which you respond to the different seasons of your life reveals the degree to which Jesus is first in your life.

ILLUST -

A fisherman was at sea with his godless companions when a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. His friends begged him to pray; but he said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that or even entered a church.” At their insistence, however, he finally cried out, “O Lord, I haven’t asked anything of You in 15 years, and if You help us now and bring us safely to land, I promise I won’t bother You again for another 15!”

I don’t think it will come as any surprise that we should pray. Not only should prayer be our crisis management tool

Prayer

stolen from Matt Chandler who stole it from D.A. Carson

7 Prayer Lessons:

Plan to pray.

we plan a date.

Adopt practical ways to avoid distraction and mental drift.

praying with your phone in reach is praying with distractions in reach.

Develop a prayer-partner relationship.

to be taught or to teach

prayer is caught more than taught

Choose a good prayer model.

ACTS

HEART

Honor God w/praise

Examine your life

Ask for help/needs

Requests for others

Thank God

PAST

Five Fingers

but don’t let the model rule the prayer

Develop a system of prayer lists

journal or cards

Mix different types of prayers - praise, confession, intercession - using Scripture.

Pray until you pray

What they mean is that Christians should pray long enough and honestly enough, at a single session, to get past the feeling of formalism and unreality that attends not a little praying. We are especially prone to such feelings when we pray for only a few minutes, rushing to be done with a mere duty. To enter the spirit of prayer, we must stick to it for a while. If we “pray until we pray,” eventually we come to delight in God’s presence, to rest in his love, to cherish his will. Even in dark or agonized praying, we somehow know we are doing business with God.

- DA Carson

Praise

The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle of James 3. Helping One Another through Prayer/Forgiveness 5:13–18 (Health)

God is not just an errand boy to help human need, but one who deserves worship and praise at all times (Phil. 4:4, 6; Eph. 5:20; 1 Thes. 5:16–18) and a person to whom one may relate no matter what the circumstance.

Psallo - psalms - praise -

Pray / praise, pray / praise, pray / praise - this is the rhythm of our lives. Whatever season we are in, there is a proper way to respond to God.

Ephesians 5:19 ESV

19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

Colossians 3:16 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Music helps anchor truth to our memory.

ILLUST - To help learn the Hebrew alphabet, I would watch YouTube videos of the Hebrew alphabet set to music. - We did it in class - One student couldn’t remember the song for his wedding so he sang that song instead.

I love to hear my children sing the truth of Scripture - to praise God.

ILLUST - “Fruit of the Spirit” song at GCS - I sang along to encourage them.

ReConnect - I couldn’t sing Spanish well, but I sang it to encourage my Hispanic brothers and sisters. At Granger MC, we sing cross-culturally and cross-generationally

**If we could gauge the priority of prayer and praise in your life, what would it tell us about the place Jesus has in your life?

God heals through prayer. (15-16)

2 Extremes to avoid - God does not miraculously heal today through prayer / God always heals through prayer today if you have enough faith.

Both extremes limit God and neither of these extremes are found in this passage

1) says that God is no longer working in the same way we have seen him work throughout the OT as well as in the NT (ex?)

2) limits God because it says he can ONLY work as well as you do. (We do know that limited faith can limit the extent to which God will be effective in your life; however, God’s ability to heal is not limited to your faith or correct prayer.)

(14) Is anyone among you sick?

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, 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. (ESV)

“sick” = astheneo = to be weak

Mental ability, spiritual condition, conscience, bodily constitution

Prayer

All sickness is a result of sin

either sin in the life of the person

or sin in the world

Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

idea is person is so sick they are unable to go anywhere.

‘anointing him with oil’ has caused much speculation over the thousands of years. Three options for the oil:

medicinal

oil was used many times as a salve

Probably not medicinal because if you need medicine it is probably wiser to call the doctor than the pastor.

sacramental

Some would believe it removes sin and prepares the soul for death.

The context would seem to indicate that the person recovers.

symbolic

sees the anointing as “setting apart for God’s work.”

Seen in OT with instruments of the Tabernacle that were set apart for God’s work.

This makes the best sense of the context and rightly places the emphasis where it should be. The oil itself doesn’t heal. The administering of the oil doesn’t heal. The oil symbolizes what actually heals - God, and he does so through a prayer of faith.

(15) And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

either sin in the life of the person

or sin in the world

“Prayer of faith”

Prayer of faith - not just a magical prayer, but a prayer of FAITH in GOD - the one who heals

By definition, the prayer offered in faith releases to God the control of timing and method.

Otherwise, it is a ‘prayer with expected payment’ - ILLUST - Dad, I totally trust you to take care of me - this is how I expect you to do it. If not, you don’t love me.

How many have not seen God show up the way you expected and you struggled with that? That’s ok, but ask yourself, was I letting God be God, or was I trying to control God?

John 14:13–14 ESV

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

All sickness is a result of sin

either sin in the life of the person

or sin in the world

Either way, it should draw us to a place of examination.

(16)Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

Switch from an individual being prayed for to the body praying for each other.

Confession and intercession is ongoing.

tied to healing

1 Corinthians 11:30 ESV

30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Sometimes illness is a direct result of sin in someone’s life. This does NOT mean that anytime there is a sickness in someone’s life that it is a result of sin.

“If he has committed sins”

All sickness is a result of sin - but it may not be the result of your sin.

either sin in the life of the person

or sin in the world

Either way, it should draw us to a place of examination.

A holy church is a healthy church

Confession

either sin in the life of the person

or sin in the world

There is a cure in confession

We don’t need to confess our sins to each other for forgiveness - We each go straight to God through Jesus.

We confess our sins for accountability - to help break the cycle.

You make yourself sick trying to cover your sin.

porn addiction, drinking, cutting,

Imagine the freedom you have when you can live in the light.

It may feel as though the confession will be costly - but it is certainly more costly to continue to struggle - trying on your own to break free.

Ephesians 5:11 ESV

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

First, confess your sins to God. “Faithful and just. . .”

If you know Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit who can help you find freedom.

Spirit has also placed you in the company of others who can walk with you - hold you accountable - walk through the struggle with you.

We have all done things that need confession. You’re not the only broken person.

This is why Life Groups are so important. It gives you the safe place to confess your sins who love you and want you to find freedom. You may find yourself with people who have had similar struggles and can help you along that path to freedom.

Fill out a connect card - we’ll get you connected.

What if we became THAT kind of community?

Intercession

“pray for one another,”

However you shake it, there is a direct correlation to our prayers together and healing.

Do you pray about what you see in the prayer chain - it’s not a gossip chain - Marlene does a great job.

Countless times I’ve told people we were praying for them, and they have responded “I know, I can feel it.”

Can we commit to seriously pray for whatever comes across the prayer chain this week?

that you may be healed.

Does this mean if we all confess our sin and pray hard enough we can guarantee healing?

Some would argue that if you simply have enough faith you will be healed, and if you are not healed, you must not have enough faith.

That is not what James is saying here.

What happens when the healing doesn’t come?

John 14:13–14 ESV

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

The answer to our prayer has less to do with sincerity of faith (in general) and more to do with our relationship with the one in whom our faith rests.

(16b) The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Does a righteous person do God’s will or NOT do God’s will?

Does a righteous person pray according to God’s will or NOT according to God’s will?

The extraordinary power of prayer comes through ordinary people. (17-18)

(17) 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. (18) Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (ESV)

1 Kings 17–18 ESV

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. 17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” 1 After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, 4 and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” 6 So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself. 7 And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’ ” 9 And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.” ’ 12 And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here” ’; and he will kill me.” 15 And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there. 41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 17-18

17:2 - And the word of the Lord came to him:

17:5 - So he went and did according to the word of the Lord

So he went and did according to the word of the Lord

17:8 - Then the word of the Lord came to him,

17:14 - For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty,

14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .

17:16 - The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

17:24 - And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

18:1 - After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .

We may not have the direct vision or communication regarding whether or not someone will be healed, but we do have the will of God that he has given us in his Word.

It’s our extraordinary God that makes that works through the ordinary

Elijah didn’t work on his own.

His job description said he was to do God’s will.

God stops the rain.

God gives Elijah water from a brook and food delivered to him by ravens

God provides through the widow - oil jugs not empty and flour not spent.

God raises the widow’s dead son.

God defeats the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel

God sends rain when Elijah prays

It’s ordinary people through whom God works.

Elijah confronts the 450 prophets of Baal, but when one queen Jezebel threatens him, he crumbles.

“he was afraid”

How many of you feel like that? Maybe you’ve seen what God has done for you in the past, but for some limitation, you feel like your through - God’s not going to be able to use you anymore.

Maybe you’re tired and weary.

Elijah had a nature like yours, like mine.

mountaintops and valleys

Doesn’t mean God cannot, will not, or isn’t using you.

And not just for mundane things but extraordinary things.

Conclusion

What season of life are you in right now?

What should be your response?

Prayer / Praise.

Do you need healing? Freedom? Then you need prayer.

Maybe you need God to confirm in you again that he can work through you. He’s not done with you. The extraordinary God can work through ordinary you and me.

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