The Power of Persistent Prayer
James 5:13ff Luke 18:1-18
Recently there has been much information in the media about the Islamic faith. You might have learned more about the Muslims in the last year than you did all the rest of your life. I was interested to learn about one of their “Five Pillars of Faith,” the binding rules of conduct in this extremely disciplined religion. Five times each day, orthodox Islamic believers bow in prayer. Once in the morning, at noon, once in the late afternoon, once at sunset, and right before they retire for bed, they have prayer. They kneel, place their foreheads to the ground and offer their prayers toward their holiest city of Mecca, the home of Mohammad. It is quite a unifying ritual for them, knowing that all over the world Moslems are doing the same thing, bowing toward the same holy place.
I could not help but think of that Muslim practice when I read James 5:13-18. Applying this to the Christian, it would be Christians, wherever we are and whatever we are doing, coming to a time of prayer. Now certainly our prayer is different. It is not a five time a day fixed ritual. Our physical position is not fixed, nor is our prayer directed toward Mohammad as our intercessor. However, there is something to be said for that facing the same direction. Not toward a city or a particular holy place, but toward the one who created the Universe. In the verses that we are looking at this morning James is urging us wherever we are, whatever our situation, to come together and face God in prayer. What a tremendous challenge!
The Jews had a similar tradition, they would gather, if they were in Jerusalem, at the Temple courts to pray. The time was usually around 3 in the afternoon. The Apostles took advantage of that time of gathering to teach the people about Jesus. I am not recommending a particular place, nor am I recommending a particular time. I am recommending, persistent, humble, heartfelt prayer.
Don’t miss what James is saying here. No matter the situation, you need to be facing God, communicating freely with Him. Martin Luther said, “As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray.” In this passage, James highlights several different scenarios when we need to turn our face toward God in prayer.
Why is persistent prayer a problem?
There are no small matters in which we should not pray about. Anytime we have a decision to make, it would be a good idea to bring in the Father into the decision making process. Prayer is open communication with the Creator of the Universe in a Father/child like relationship/conversation. There are no matters too small for us to talk about with our children, therefore there should be no matters to small for us to talk about with our Father.
Cable television tycoon Ted Turner has often been quoted as being critical of fundamentalist Christianity. Turner made some very revealing remarks at a banquet in Orlando, Fla., in 1990, where he was given an award by the American Humanist Association for his work on behalf of the environment. “Turner said he had a strict Christian upbringing and at one time considered becoming a missionary. "I was saved seven or eight times," the newspaper quoted him as saying. However, he said he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died, despite his prayers. [Spokesman-Review, May 1, 1990. www.christianglobe.com/illustrations/prayer unanswered]
Concerning our prayers, probably every one of us has considered giving up on seeing some of our prayers answered. Probably more than just a few of us actually have given up and stopped praying, maybe not altogether, but at least quit praying for certain things. We quit praying because of discouragement and doubt. We quit praying because deep down we sometimes wonder if prayer really makes a difference. So how do we keep going when we feel like bailing out?
Jesus told his disciples a parable about persistent prayer. Luke 18 tells of a woman who pestered a judge to finally giving her justice. The woman wore the judge out. It is not suggesting that we keep bugging God in order to get our way, but to continue to bring our petitions before the Lord. James tells us there are two reasons why we do not get.
1. We don’t ask
2. We ask with the wrong motive.
In Luke 18 Jesus is telling us not to give up. In his book “the Parables of Jesus” James Montgomery Boice told of the story of Evangelist George Mueller. “George Mueller, the founder of a great Christian orphanage work in England in the 1800’s, was a powerful man of prayer. He knew the importance of keeping at prayer even when the answer seemed delayed. When he was young, he began praying that two of his friends might be saved. He prayed for them for more than sixty years. One of the men was converted shortly before his death at what was probably the last service Mueller held. The other was saved within a year of his death.” What do you think would have happened had Mueller given up.
We give up because we do not see the answer right away. Sometimes God says yes right away, sometimes the answer is NO, and sometimes the answer is Not Yet. I have learned this lesson about prayer, the answer comes in God’s timing and His timing is perfect.
Sometimes we give up because the circumstances are against us.
1. The Doctors say the situation is hopeless
2. The situation looks desperate
3. We are in need of a miracle.
In the parable of the woman and the judge, the situation looked hopeless. First of all, in those days, not every case was heard by the judge. The courtroom was a traveling tent, and only those sent in by the judge’s advisors were heard. Women were not highly regarded in those times. Their voice was not heard. They had no advocate. This passage however is not about Women’s Rights, it is about prayer. The idea is that we do have a voice, we do have an advocate, and we are welcomed before the Throne to make our petitions known. Because of Jesus, we have the privilege of coming before the throne, because of Jesus, we have an advocate and because of Jesus, we have the Father’s ear.
When should we pray?
When we are troubled or in trouble. this is the only place in the entire N.T. where this word for “trouble” is used. It means “suffering through tough times, not related to physical problems.” This is the time
1. When there isn’t enough money to pay the bills.
2. When the storm rolls through as it did Katrina and throws your car all over the parking lot or destroys your home or business, James says pray.
3. When your friend is acting like a jerk and destroying your friendship, James urges you to face God in that time of trouble.
4. “When the rug is being pulled out from under your life, pray!”
That is not too difficult to understand, but notice what is not said. You can look all over the page, even all over the Bible, and you will not find the verse you would like to be there. “Is any of you in trouble? Pray and God will take that trouble away!” It simply isn’t there, no matter how much we would like it to be. As a matter of fact, remember James 1:2-4. We don’t get because we do not ask, or we ask with wrong motives. Notice, even Jesus was troubled, yet in his trouble he said “Let your will be done.”
Trouble is part of life, but in the midst of it, we have a choice. We can allow God to use it to mold us into who He wants us to be, or we can allow it to beat us down into something less than God’s will for us. James says we choose the outcome of our troubles by turning toward God in their midst.
If any of you is happy?
We teach our children to say thank you, yet do we thank God for the answers? Do we thank God for the strength to persevere? Do we thank God for giving us a narrow escape? I have a problem with most prayer times in worship services. We bring up the petitions and the requests but where is the joy of praise, where is the testimony of answered prayer?
I know some congregations get carried away with this and it becomes something like a pep rally, but what is wrong with a time of testimony and praise for what God has done? What is wrong with a time of praising God for the things He has done? My mentor and dear friend Don Kennedy would pray “Thank you Lord for the things you have done, for what you are doing and for what you are about to do.”
We pray when we are troubled, we pray when we are happy, and we pray when we are sick.
We have had situations here where the doctors and modern medicine had no answers. There was the time when Marion Hetrick had that shadow on her lungs, she came forward that Wednesday night, we gathered around her, anointing her with oil. The next test showed shadow gone.
Jim Jordan: we prayed and anointing him with oil on several occasions. Now he faces healing of his knees. Jim tells of a time of peace that overcame him when we did this for him at the hospital.
Myself: There was the time when a chest x-ray revealed a spot on my lung. We prayed and brought this before the Lord. The next test revealed nothing there.
Nancy Stiffey: Cancer gone
Maxcine Rockwell: Cancer gone/remission
There are others could if they would stand and testify to the power of persistent prayer.
Tony Campolo tells of a time he was called to come and pray over and anoint a man at a Revival. He had cancer, he was bitter toward God, yet at the urging of his wife he came to worship that Sunday and had the Tony and the Elders pray over him. Tony got a phone call about a week later. The wife reminded Tony of what he had done at that Revival, he was overjoyed to hear her use cancer in the past tense. His joy was short-lived, he died she said. However, she told of his past and his anger toward God and his bitterness, but, she said, after you and the Elders prayed over him and anointed him with oil, he gave his life back to God, the last few days were days of peace, they sang, they prayed, they read scripture together, then she said some very profound words, he was not cured, he was healed.
I want to encourage anyone who is in need of prayer to come forward at the invitation time for anointing and prayer. Give God the Glory for He is worthy.
