Text: “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).
Prayer is communication or communion with God. It can be a petition or an appeal to Him confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness. It can be conversation with Him giving Him praise for showering us with blessings.
It can be an outpouring of thanksgiving from the innermost part of our heart. It can be a request for help or assistance for us or for someone else. It is talking to our Heavenly Father just as we talk to people around us.
Sometimes when we pray to God, we might think that He is not listening because we do not get immediate response or answer to our prayer. One time David was praying to God for help because his enemies were fighting with him, but he felt his prayer was not being heard. David said, “When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother” (Psalm 35: 13, 14).
Poem: “He Answers”
I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know, God answers prayer.
I know not when He sends the word
That tells us fervent prayer is heard.
I know it comes soon or late;
Therefore we need to pray and wait.
I know not if the blessing sought
Will come in just the guise I thought.
I leave my prayers with Him alone
Whose will is wiser than my own?
------------Eliza M. Hickok, in the King’s Business
God does hear each and every one of our prayers; however, some of them are denied for reasons we do not understand. Maybe the timing is bad or the request can be met in a better and more beneficial way. We must realize that we do not always know what is good for us.
See if you can relate to this person:
He was a Christian, and he prayed. He asked for strength to do greater things, but he was given infirmity that he might do better things.
He asked for riches that he might be happy; he was given poverty that he might be wise.
He asked for power that he might have the praise of men; he was given weakness that he might feel the need of God.
He had received nothing that he asked for, all that he hoped for. His prayer seems unanswered, but he is most blessed.
----------------------------The Standard
We are thinking as man thinks, but God is thinking on a much higher level and He knows what is best for us and for those whom we pray for. You and I have prayed enough to know that our prayers are not always answered the way we would like them answered.
Listen to this little story:
Story: “Not Always Answered Our Way”
One day a lady was giving her little nephew a lesson. He was generally a good, attentive child, but on this occasion he could not fix his mind on his work. Suddenly he said, “Auntie, may I kneel down ask God to help me to find my marble?” His aunt having given her consent, the little boy knelt by his chair, closed his eyes, and prayed silently. Then he rose and went on with his lesson contentedly.
Next day, almost afraid of asking the question, lest the child had not found his marble, she said, “Well, dear, have you found your marble?”
“No, Auntie,” was the reply, “but God has made me not want to.”
God does not always answer our prayers in the way we wish or expect, but if we are sincere, He will take from us the desire for what is contrary to His holy will.
------------------Home Messenger
It would be wonderful and our life would be so simple and non-stressful if we could only accept God’s answers the way children do. If we could only have the faith of a child and accept when we don’t get our way, through faith, believe God has something better.
There are times we pray for ourselves and there are times we pray for other people. We are not being selfish when we pray for ourselves. God knows our needs and He knows our wants. These two things don’t always match and many times our wants are not good for us, therefore, we don’t get what we ask for.
Should we stop praying when we don’t get results as we think we should? Are we to believe in our heart that God is not listening; He doesn’t care, the request is too small or too big, we are not worthy, or we are asking for the impossible?
The truth is that we should never stop praying just because our prayer is not answered on the first go-around. God is always listening and in fact He knows what we are going to ask for even before we ask. He cares about every facet of our life and nothing is too small or too big.
Since He created us, we are His child and He cares for us just as we as earthly parents care for our children. We should never be concerned that our request or prayer is impossible because “….with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
Some people feel that it is not proper for them to pray for themselves. They believe that it is a selfish act so they ask others to pray for them or to keep them in their prayers. There is nothing selfish about praying. I would venture to say that Christians as a whole probably pray more for others than they do for themselves. This is intercessory prayer.
James penned these words: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” (James 5:13). People face different mountains of suffering. One could be suffering from a sickness or an illness of some nature. The physical body could be hurting or the mind could be confused.
In this day, there are many people who are at the foot of a mountain of addiction. It could be alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, cheating, lying, adultery, fornication or anything else that is ruining their life and making them miserable. In other words, these people are suffering and need help. James says, “Let him pray” (v. 13).
The Holy Spirit speaks to us in time of affliction and as a child of God we need to listen. God already knows what we are going through, but He awaits our request for help. He will never force His help upon us. We are not puppets controlled by strings, but we are His children, created in His image, and given the privilege of making a choice. Affliction or suffering should lead us directly to the One who can help us.
A person might feel guilty because he or she has neglected to stay in touch with the Father therefore decides not to pray. On the other hand, God just might create an issue for them because He wants the person to turn to Him.
All of us complain because of various circumstances and issues, but to whom do we complain? Usually it is to our spouse, family or friend. The people who listen to us are probably not going to be of much help therefore, we are wasting our breath. We should be complaining to our Heavenly Father because He knows our issue and He is the only one who can really help us.
James goes on to say, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms” (v. 13). As a child of God, we are blessed in many ways. First of all, God has given us the breath of life. He keeps our heart beating 24 hours each day. He has given us an earthly family who loves us and cares for us. We have food to eat, clothes to wear, a shelter in which to live, a means of earning a living, numerous material things to enjoy, and a Savior who loves us so much He took all of our sins and placed them at the foot of the Cross.
He suffered pain and agony, shed His blood and died nailed to the Cross. Why? Love! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
God, the Father, gives each of us a second chance to make things right with Him. We have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in His kingdom. The Cross is what bridges that gap between sinful man and Almighty God. I don’t know about you, but in my book this deserves prayers of praise and mountains of thanks to the One who showers us with grace and forgiveness.
All of us have been sick at one time or another, but how many times have we called the elders of the church? James said, “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” (James 5:14).
People should request the services of the minister when they are in need. In some churches, the minister and the elders will respond to a call from the sick person. It is the duty of the sick person to notify the church of their condition so that they can be placed on the prayer list and prayed for during the service or prayer meeting.
Some churches still do anoint the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord and this is wonderful. One has to be careful and remember that it is not the oil that is magic in any way and that it in itself does not save or heal the sick. It is symbolic of the consecration or blessing of the one sick and in addition, it is symbolic of the happy or blissful presence of the Holy Spirit.
In biblical times, oil was used as a medicine as illustrated in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). You remember in this parable Jesus talks about the man who was beaten by robbers and left for dead along the road to Jericho when the Samaritan traveler came by and took pity on the hurt man. Jesus says, “He (the Samaritan) went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine” (v. 34).
Oil was also used as a symbol of the Spirit of God as recorded in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 16:13. In this Scripture, the oil was used to anoint David as king. “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.”
James says, “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” You might ask about the “prayer of faith” as to what it means. Prayer is talking intimately with God and “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). It is mandatory that the person praying and the person being prayed for have a lively faith.
Faith in itself does not heal, but it is God who does the healing. Our prayers are the beginning of the healing process. God waits for our prayers which are asked “….in the name of the Lord” (v. 14) before he steps in to take care of our requests. He answers our prayers according to His will.
James goes on to tell us that “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (v. 16). Who is a righteous man? The word righteous indicates that the man is honest, good, upright and honorable in the sight of Almighty God.
No man or woman is perfect “….for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), but Jesus made it possible for us to talk to God and ask for forgiveness. A righteous person who has sinned will ask for forgiveness either privately or publicly. A righteous person reflects the image of his Creator. God can and will work through a righteous person and bring about marvelous happenings.
Elijah was a righteous man and God used him to illustrate to man what could happen with earnest prayer. “He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced its crops” (v. 17, 18).
You and I have at our disposal the most powerful resource there is. That resource is communication with God through prayer. Prayer should be our first move and not the last when we are facing situations we cannot handle or when our world seems to be falling apart. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand that God is much smarter than we are.
Elijah was a person just like us. He had prayer at his disposal just as we do. He had issues just as we have. He prayed earnestly. He prayed knowing and believing nothing was impossible with God. He knew God would hear and would answer according to His will.
Elijah had a personal relationship with the Father and that is what we need. When God spoke to Elijah, Elijah listened. When that still small voice speaks to us we need to listen. There are times we feel alone, just as did Elijah, but be assured that God is always present. There are times in our life when we feel as though we are about to lose the battle and things look gloomy, but this is the time victory is on the horizon.
Conclusion:
What have we really said?
First of all, prayer is communication with God.
Second, God waits for our prayers before he acts.
Third, prayers are for affliction and suffering, but also for thanksgiving for God’s shower of blessings.
Fourth, oil played an important part in biblical times by being a medicine and by being symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
Fifth, fervent prayer of a righteous person avails great things.
Sixth, we have access to the same powerful God as did Elijah.
Seventh, we should pray for others – this is called intercessory prayer.
I want to leave you with this little story about praying for others:
Story:
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they have no other recourse but to pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, the agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. The second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive god’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven saying, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” said the voice from heaven. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”
“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
“He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.
When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you and me!
--------------author unknown
Amen.
