Prayer – God’s Prescription For Persecution Series

There is a phrase we often use in our culture – we saved the best for last. I don’t know if the last part of James 5 is the BEST section because it is hard to measure that quantifiably. But one I can say for certain is that it is no doubt one of the most debated sections of the book of James and it is also the section that so much discouragement has been connected to. And I believe that discouragement has been misguided. Let me prove that to you really quickly and show you not only how relevant this passage is, but how harmful a misunderstanding of it can be. If you have ever prayed really hard for someone not to die and they died anyway, would you raise your hand up? All of us.

And somewhere along the way, either directly through a church you have been a part of, or indirectly through conversations about faith, you have been exposed to the idea that one of the reasons that God did not heal that person is because we simply did not have enough faith. That somehow the potential for healing is in direct proportion to the amount of faith exercised by those who are praying for the sick person. Several years ago, there was a local gymnastics teacher that taught several of one of our pastor’s children. And following a terrible accident in which he was paralyzed, his family set up a Facebook page that was titled, “More Faith, More Healing.”

Sadly, this young man never recovered from his paralysis…and the only thing to conclude with that theological framework is that there was spiritual failure to fully exercise the amount of faith necessary that would move the arm of God to heal. I don’t know about you, but that feels like a tremendous amount of guilt heaped on top of a terribly sad situation. So where do people pick up that teaching? James 5 is not the ONLY place, but it is certainly the most PROMINENT place…so turn there with me this morning.

Today’s text is a passage that many would-be healers and advocates of modern-day healing use to push the idea that we have a guaranteed healing if we pray under the proper circumstances. So with that thought in mind, let’s look at this text together in a message titled Prayer—God’s Prescription for Persecution

James 1:13-18

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 there are certainly a lot of questions connected to this passage, there is no question about what this passage is about. Prayer is mentioned seven times in these verses. But that does not negate the other questions that are fair questions to ask of this text. When he talks about suffering in verse 13, what kind of suffering is he referring to? When he talks about sickness in verse 14, what kind of sickness does he have in mind? And what is it that the elders of the church have to offer in their prayers that other people don’t? Do they have a special access path to God? And what is this anointing, and why oil?

And the questions don’t end there. Does the prayer of faith always restore the one who is sick and allow the Lord to raise him up? And what does sin have to do with it? And what kind of healing is he talking about in verse 16? You see, we know that prayer, not healing, is the focus of this passage. That’s obvious by the repeated use of it. But let’s back up even further and look at this passage against the backdrop of the entire book of James.

In looking at the context of the entire epistle and specifically chapter 5, we know that these believers were suffering because of persecution from other people. Let me quickly break down chapter 5 for you. Verses 1-6 deals with suffering brought about through persecution from ungodly people. Verses 7-11 is an exhortation to be patient and faithful while the persecution is going on. And verses 13-18 provide the prescription on how to be strengthened when you are weak from suffering through persecution…that’s how the passage lays out.