Purpose: To show how prayer can empower believers.
Aim: I want believers look to prayer as the solution to discouragement.
INTRODUCTION: Bible believing churches in America continue to experience apparent weakness. For example, believers are struggling with discouragement and depression almost as much as those outside of the average church.
I believe that our text today shows us that prayer is the answer. I hesitate to try to explain this passage because there are so many opinions about what it means. Most people think that this is a passage about physical healing, but I am convinced that this is not true.
Before we explore what this text means, I want to spend a few minutes showing that physical healing is NOT what James is talking about here.
➽General reasons why this text is not about physical healing
➽#1 The context of this book is suffering not healing
James is writing a letter to Jewish Christians who have been scattered (1:1). They are under intense persecution. James begins by telling them to, James 1:2-3 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (NAU) He continues in James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial... (NAU)
Then James comes back to the theme of suffering in chapter five. In verse 6 James reminds them that rich people are putting Christians to death. Also notice verses 7-8, 10-11. The Christian life has become a battleground and it needs to be endured with patience and confidence. James begins today’s text, which is the beginning of a paragraph, with "Is anyone among you suffering?"
➽#2 The subject of this text is prayer not healing
Notice that the words PRAY, PRAYER, or PRAYED are mentioned 7 times in 6 verses (Vs.13-18).
➽#3 If this text is about physical healing it contradicts other Scripture.
If verses 14-15 are talking about physical healing then we have a fool-proof formula for healing. If anyone is sick just pray and anoint with oil and they will be cured. When Timothy was struggling with stomach problems Paul, instead of applying this formula, told him to drink some wine.
When Paul was afflicted with a severe physical problem that he called a "thorn in the flesh" the Lord promised grace instead of healing. God did not rebuke him for ignoring this so-called formula.
Nowhere has God ever promised to heal us physically if we just have enough faith.
➽Vs.13 I. Prayer has Power for Sufferers "suffering? Then he must pray"
What are we supposed to do when life gets hard? Pray! 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (NAU)
The original word for PRAY means a continual pleading. When you fear that life is about to crush you, call out to God. James is not talking about physical problems. He is talking about a suffering soul and a cheerful soul. Passionate prayer is followed by joy. The word translated SING PRAISES literally means psalm. So James is saying, "He is to psalm."
Paul said, Colossians 3:16-17 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (NAU) In other words, if you are cheerful let it show!
God has promised us: Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me." (NAU)
J. Hudson Taylor said, "The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, ’Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!’" [1]
➽Vs.14-15 II. Prayer has Power for Broken Believers "prayer...will restore"
The word translated SICK here can refer to physical sickness, but the primary meaning of this word is "to be weak, to be feeble, to be impotent (or powerless)."
The meaning of this word must be determined by the context. For example, this word refers to weak faith in Romans 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith... (NAU)
In 1 Corinthians 8:9, 11-12 it is used to refer to spiritually weak Christians. In Romans 5:6 it refers to the spiritual weakness of unsaved people.
The same word is also in 2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (NAU) Paul was saying that there were difficulties in his life that led him to be weak.
➽Vs.14a A. The responsibility of a broken believer "he must call for the elders"
James is saying that if you are too discouraged or worn down to call on God, then call on the elders or pastors of the church to help.
In verse 13 James is saying if you are suffering, pray. In verse 14 he is saying if you are broken in spirit call for help to pray. The word CALL means "to call alongside." Call for the elders to come alongside.
Haven’t you had times when you felt like you couldn’t pray? If you feel like you can’t pray what should you do? Give up? No! call for help from spiritual men who know how to pray. Let their prayers lift you up.
Don’t go day after day, sitting alone at home so discouraged that you have no energy to pray. Prayer is our life-blood as Christians. Not praying is not an option.
➽Vs.14b B. The responsibilities of elders "pray...anointing"
The two main responsibilities of elders are: Acts 6:4 "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." (NAU)
I realize that, as an elder, I have spent too much time counseling hurting believers when I should have been praying with hurting believers.
What people need most from me is not my wisdom, even if it’s based on the Bible. Hurting people need prayer more than anything else.
What does James mean when he says, "anointing him with oil"? The Greek word for ANOINTING here is never used for ceremonial anointing; there is another word that is used for that. The word used here means "to rub, or oil." So, this could be translated, "rubbing him with oil in the name of the Lord" or "oiling him in the name of the Lord." This is what people did after a bath or when a special guest came to their home. Jesus used this same word when He said in Luke 7:46 "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. (NAU)
This same word was used to describe what the disciples did in Mark 6:13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. (NAU)
So, what does it mean to rub someone with oil? It means to soothe someone physically. The believer may actually be hurting from physical torture. They didn’t have emergency rooms in those days and the person they were praying for may have had real wounds that needed attention. James had said: James 2:16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? (NAU) The point is that if pastors see a physical need that they can meet they should meet it.
This is what the good Samaritan did in Luke 10:34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. (NAU)
"To anoint with oil" may also have a symbolic meaning like it does in Isaiah 1:6 From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil. (NAU)
This reminds us of what David said in Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. (NAU)
"You know what that meant? When the shepherd brought all the sheep in to the little fold on the hillside after they had grazed all day, he put his staff down in front of the little entry and only one sheep went through at a time. And as one sheep went through, he put it down. The next one stood in line. He checked over the whole body. Wherever there was a wound, he poured oil and soothed it. Wherever the skin was parched, he rubbed it soft and then let the sheep go in. That’s the shepherd’s ministry...that’s the ministry...the ministry of caring. It’s a ministry of restoration." [2]
➽Vs.15 C. The Response from God
The word SICK in this verse is different from the one in verse 14. The word here means "to be weary." The only other time it is used is in Hebrews 12:3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (NAU)
So the prayer of faith will restore the weary. Notice the three promises we have in this one verse.
➽1. God will restore "will restore"
The Lord will bring relief. He will deliver a broken believer from despair.
Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. (NAU)
➽2. God will rebuild "Lord will raise him up"
To RAISE UP means to rebuild. Paul said that God uses leaders in the church, Ephesians 4:12-13 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (NAU)
As the Lord restores us to a close walk with Him we get stronger. James has already made that point in James 1:3-4 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (NAU)
What a wonderful promise. If we will pray, God will lift our spirits. 2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. (NAU) Even if the persecution continues, our spirits can be as refreshed and as excited as ever.
➽3. God will forgive "will be forgiven"
Of the three promises this one is conditional. In other words, sin may NOT be part of the problem. Sin will make us weak, so it should be confessed and forsaken.
Psalm 139:23-24 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. (NAU)
➽Vs.16-18 III. Prayer has Power for Church Members
James started talking about individual believers in verse 13, and then he talked about elders with hurting believers in verses 14-15, now we see him talking about the church as a group.
➽Vs.16a A. Prevent despair "confess...pray for one another"
James begins with THEREFORE so he is drawing a conclusion. In other words, since a lack of prayer can lead to a feeling of hopelessness, or even despair so that you have to call for the elders to help you, everybody in the church should be transparent with each other and pray for each other all the time.
Don’t wait until you hit bottom. Make sure you have ongoing relationships with other church members so you can pray for and encourage them and so they can do the same for you.
When you sense that you are beginning to slip in your walk with the Lord reach out to another believer.
Satan wants to isolate you so he can defeat you. We shouldn’t let pride keep us from asking for help. Let someone else know where you are battling and pray for where they are battling.
Galatians 6:1-2 1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. (NAU)
➽Vs.16b B. Believe in godly praying "effective prayer...can accomplish much"
The phrase CAN ACCOMPLISH MUCH literally says "is very strong."
We need to stay close to the Lord so that our prayers can move mountains.
"God’s child can conquer anything by prayer. Is it any wonder that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian or to hinder him in the use of it?" - Andrew Murray [3]
"Prayer is a wonderful power placed by Almighty God in the hands of His saints, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and to achieve unusual results. The only limits to prayer are the promises of God and His ability to fulfill those promises." - E. M. Bounds [4]
"Prayer is a weapon, a mighty weapon in a terrible conflict. Our prayers are to be a continual, conscious, earnest effort of battle, the battle against whatever is not God’s will." - P. T. Forsyth [5]
➽Vs.17-18 C. Believe that your prayers can move God "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours"
Then James gives us an illustration. Elijah was able to stop and start the rain, but he struggled just like we do. There were times that he was bold and courageous. There were other times when he was fearful, tired, discouraged, exhausted, and lonely.
CONCLUSION: "What the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use--men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men--men of prayer." E. M. Bounds [6]
➽"I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach." Charles Spurgeon [7]
[1]10,000 sermon illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Dallas: Biblical Studies Press.
[2]Online sermon by Dr. John MacArthur at http://www.gty.org/Resources/Print/Sermons/59-33
[3]10,000 sermon illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Dallas: Biblical Studies Press
[4]Ibid.
[5]Ibid.
[6]Ibid.
[7]Ibid.
