Powerful and Effective Prayer
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.
INTRO: I am excited to share with you this message today. For the past 11 weeks we have taken a journey through the Book of James, and we have learned how to live out our faith in Christ in some very practical ways. As we conclude the series this morning, I believe God has given us a very powerful, and life-changing message on powerful and effective prayer.
(Elijah) In our passage of Scripture, James references Elijah the Prophet to give us a powerful example of what God can do through His people when we pray.
The prophet Elijah is one of the most interesting people in the Bible. God used him during an important time in Israel’s history to oppose a wicked king and bring revival to the land. Like most of us, Elijah’s life was filled with contrasts. At times he was bold and decisive, and at other times fearful and tentative. Elijah experienced both the power of God and the depths of depression in his life. James reminds us that Elijah was a flesh and blood person just like us.
Elijah, a prophet of God whose name means “my God is the Lord,” came from Tishbeh in Gilead, but nothing is known of his family or birth. We first meet Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1 when he suddenly appears to challenge Ahab, an evil king who ruled the Northern Kingdom from 874 to 853 BC. Elijah prophesies a drought to come upon the whole land as consequence for Ahab’s evil (1 Kings 17:1–7).
After calling for the drought, Elijah's life was threatened. Being warned by God, Elijah hides near the brook of Cherith where he is fed by ravens. As the drought and famine in the land grow worse, Elijah meets with a widow in a neighboring country, and, through her obedience to Elijah’s request, God provides food enough for Elijah, the woman, and her son. Miraculously, the widow’s barrel of flour and jar of oil never run out (1 Kings 17:8–16). The lesson for the believer is that, when we obey God and are in God’s will, He fulfills all of our needs, and His mercy to us never runs short.
We next see Elijah in a show down with the prophets of the false god Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-40). The prophets of Baal call upon their god all day long to rain fire from heaven to no avail. Then Elijah builds an altar of stones, digs a ditch around it, puts the sacrifice on the top of wood and calls for water to be poured over his sacrifice three times. Elijah calls upon God, and God sends fire down from heaven, burns the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones and dries up the water in the ditch. God proved He was more powerful than false gods. Friends listen, we have access to the same power as God’s Word works through us and demonstrates the power of His Spirit in our lives. Elijah is an illustration that it is not the person, but God in the person that demonstrates power.
After the great victory over the false prophets, the people repent and turn back to God. Then Elijah prays and rain once again falls on the land (1 Kings 18:41-46).
Once again, I would remind you that Elijah struggled with typical human frailties, just like all of us, yet he was used mightily of God. James uses this illustration to teach us what can be accomplished through prayer.
Today as we examine this passage of Scripture, we will ask and answer 4 questions: 1) What is prayer? 2) Why should we pray? 3) When should we pray? 4) How should we pray?
I. WHAT IS PRAYER?
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
(GK) proseuchomai - a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God.
What is prayer? Prayer is a communication process that allows us to talk to God! Prayer is our direct line with heaven. He wants us to communicate with Him, like a person-to-person phone call.
(Cell Phones) Cell phones and other smart devices have become a necessity to some people in today’s society. They are a means of communication that allow two or more people to interact, discuss, and respond to one another almost instantly. It has not always been that way. I remember when I was 6 years we got our first telephone in our house. The telephone was not a new invention, but my father just didn't see it as necessary - at least not until my mother convinced him differently!
Prayer is our device that allows us to communicate directly with our Heavenly Father. It can involve giving praise and thanks to God; intercession for others; asking for our own needs to be met; confession of our sin; or, just simply asking God for guidance. It can involve asking God to perform great and mighty miracles, or it can involve simply just having an enjoyable conversation with our Father in Heaven where we don't ask for anything at all.
To put it simply, prayer is communication with God.
II. WHY SHOULD WE PRAY?
A. Because God says so!
1 Thes. 5:16 Rejoice always! 17 Pray constantly.18 Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
B. Because we need to pray!
Luke 18:1 He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not become discouraged:
For the Christian, prayer is more than just something we should do, it is absolutely necessary! It is as important to us as eating is to maintaining our strength!
(Buffet) None of us would ever think about going without food for very long. I'm sure some of you are already thing about where you are going for lunch today! In fact, we like food so much, we often over indulge! But, we all know that food is a necessity. Without enough food, the body grows weak and will eventually die.
That's the way we ought to approach our pray life! We ought to develop the attitude that if I don't hear from God, I'm going to wither up inside and eventually die! Without a consistent prayer life that's exactly what happens to us! We grow weak spiritually.
When someone comes into my office and they confess to me that they are discouraged, or that their spiritual life is not where it should be, the first thing I usually ask them is, "How is your prayer life?"
For the Christian prayer is not an option - something we can take or leave - it is a necessity!
C. Because Prayer is Powerful and Effective -
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.
Prayer is power! There is nothing else in this world as powerful as a praying believer! When believers start earnestly praying in faith it causes the enemy to tremble because he knows the awesome power that is available to us through prayer!
The reason we have so many powerless christians is because we have so many prayer-less christians! The reason we have so many powerless churches, is because we have so many prayer-less churches and church members!
The power of God is made available to us through power! It is through prayer that we can make a difference!
III. WHEN SHOULD WE PRAY?
James gives us three examples of when we should communicate with God and the specific method of prayer we should use in each situation.
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.
A. We Should Pray When We Are Suffering -
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray…
The word used here refers to suffering of any kind such as sickness, bereavement, disappointment, persecutions, loss of health or property. Later, James will deal specifically with sickness, but here he deals with suffering in general.
Several times throughout this series, we've established the fact that all of us will go through a difficult time at some point in our life. When we are going through that time of suffering, James tells us that we should pray.
This is the kind of prayer where we bare our soul before God and call on Him to intercede on our behalf!
Lamentations 3:55: I called on Your name, Yahweh, from the depths of the Pit.
What should we ask God for during these times of difficulty? First, I believe it is proper for us to ask Him to remove the suffering.
Psalms 50:15 Call on Me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
Second, there may be times when God chooses not to remove the source of suffering from us. What should we do then? Well, during these times we must recognize that God has a greater purpose to accomplish through our suffering for our good and His glory and we should seek His strength to endure.
2 Corinthians 12:8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
No matter how difficult your trials or what their cause, seek the Lord through prayer for His wisdom and trust Him to work for His glory and your good!
B. We Should Sing Praises When We Are Cheerful -
James 5:13 …Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
First, James tells us what we should do when we are going through difficult times, but now he tells us what we should do when times are good.
If there is one area of our prayer life in which most Christians fail, it is this one. We never have any difficulty remembering to call on God when we are suffering, but often times we forget to communicate with God to praise Him during the good times!
Let us be a people of praise! We should take every opportunity, whether in private, in public, or in corporate worship, to praise our Heavenly Father for all the good things He has done in our lives!
C. We Should Call For The Church Elders When We Are Sick -
James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James deals with sickness as a separate issue from suffering. We know that sickness is a major cause suffering, and is included in the general term suffering James used in verse 13. But, because of the unique way sickness effects the body, the soul, and the spirit of a person, it is dealt with specifically here. Sickness not only effects the person, but it effects everyone in their circle. When one of us in the church gets sick, it effects all of us in the church.
James tells us what we should do if we get sick:
The person who is sick has the responsibility to call for the elders of the church and to make their need known. This is a demonstration of faith because most people are naturally private about their affairs, and it takes a certain degree of trust to open up to God and fellow believers.
The church elders have the responsibility to anoint with oil, lay on hands, and pray in faith over the sick person.
(oil represents the Holy Spirit / laying on hands represents unity with the person who is sick and conferring of the gift of healing / prayer of faith demonstrates our trust in God)
Did you notice that God put a greater responsibility on the elders than He did the sick person. We've managed somehow to reverse this process in the modern church. We tell people that they must have enough faith if they want to be healed and if they're not healed it's because they didn't have enough faith. But, we see here that God commands the elders to be the ones who pray in faith. As elders, we are the ones who must have the greater faith. Many times when people are suffering through illness, they are weak physically, emotionally, and spiritually - we must have enough faith to sustain them during the time their faith is weak!
(Hole in Roof) Example from Mark 2 - 4 men let their friend down through the roof - Jesus saw their faith and healed their friend!
Once we do those things, we commit it over to God and allow Him to do His part of healing and both the body and the soul!
We Pray when we're suffering; sing praises when we're cheerful; and call for the elders to join us in prayer when we're sick. That just about covers every day of our life. So, to answer our question, "When should we pray?" The answer is always and without ceasing!
IV. HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?
As we discuss how we should pray, I need to clarify that I'm not talking about the physical posture during prayer - whether we should stand, sit, kneel, or lay prostrate is not what's important. Neither is the specific time - whether morning, noon, or night. Now let me say that I do believe you ought to have a consistent place, time, and posture for daily prayer, but it should be what works best for you. To some people early in the morning is the best time. For other's they can't put together a coherent thought before they've had coffee. For others, nighttime is when their thoughts are clearest. So find the time that works best for you. But, more importantly, be open to communicating with God at ALL TIMES!
Here's how we should pray:
A. We Should Pray with Faith and Confidence -
When we pray, if we want our prayers to be effective, we must pray in faith:
Hebrews 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
When we are praying in faith, we have the assurance that he hears us which in turn gives us confidence as we pray.
1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.
Pray with faith and confidence that God can hear you when you pray, so open up that line of communication and keep it open! Pray, knowing that no matter how far you roam, your connection with Him can never be lost!
B. We Should Pray with Worship and Reverence -
Psalm 99:5 Exalt the Lord our God; bow in worship at His footstool. He is holy.
Matthew 6:9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. 10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When we pray there should be an attitude of worship and reverence! We must remember who it is we are calling on! He is the Almighty God, The King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. He is the One every knee will bow down before in Heaven and on the Earth! He's not some cosmic Santa Claus we can present with our wish list. He's not our personal genie who grants us three wishes when we rub the lamp! He's God! and He deserves to be treated as such by us!
C. We Should Pray for Each Other -
One of the most important aspects of prayer is praying for each other.
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.
If we would systematically devote ourselves to praying for each other like never before, it would radically transform this church, the lives of the members of this church, and every ministry, present or future, of this church!
Jesus set an example for us on what to pray for each other in John 17. Here are a few examples of what He prayed for His followers:
-that they would remain strong in their faith.
-they would have joy in the midst of the world’s hatred and opposition.
-they would have protection against the attacks of Satan.
-the sanctification of the believer.
-the unity of all believers.
He prayed for His disciples and for every generation to come that would follow Him. His prayer was that God protect and strengthen them as long as they were in this world. Jesus also prayed for those who would come to believe in Him through the Gospel message. Through His prayer for believers, He left us a perfect example of how we should pray for each other. Let's make a commitment right now to pray for each other daily!
CONC: How's you're prayer life? Are you praying in faith and confidence? Are you walking in the power of God that has been made available to you through prayer? If not, why not? I believe that it is God's will for each one of His children to experience His power! He has made it available to us through prayer!
Let us be a people of prayer, so that we can be filled with God's power and make a difference in the lives of those around us!
