James 5:13-18

¹³ Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. ¹⁴ Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ¹⁷ Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. ¹⁸ And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

James 4:3 gives us one of the most profound principles found anywhere in Scripture: “ye have not, because ye ask not.” Prayer is certainly not about us getting what we want from God. It is not treating God like a genie who exists to grant our every wish, nor do we have authority to demand anything from God. However, He bids us come to Him and ask Him for what we need to faithfully live for Him in this world. He invites us to cast our every burden upon Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-7). There is great power in prayer. It is not the prayer itself, but the God that we pray to and His amazing power through prayer is demonstrated all through the Bible. Having addressed the great need believers have to pray for one another and the great love that is demonstrated in praying for one another in regards to being strengthened in trials and against temptation, James now turns to stress how effective such praying is in the lives of the people of God. This week we address the final principle of prayer given to us by James and that is the great effectiveness in praying for one another.

Verse 16 begins with the thought “Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed.” The thrust of the passage has been about the importance of believers praying for one another in facing trials. However, inevitably there will be some who have fallen short and sinned in their handling of the trials. They may have been guilty of some of the sins mentioned in his letter. The answer for them is to “Submit to God” (James 4:7) and “Humble” themselves before the Lord (James 4:10). How are we to do that? The answer that James gives is to confess our sins to one another. “Healed” here is a Greek word that can refer to physical healing, but it is also used clearly in several places to refer to restoration or freedom. Here, the key to being raised up by the Lord (James 4:10; 5:15) is humble confession and reconciliation to others we have sinned against. This step cannot be left out of the process of repentance. Matthew 5:23-24 and 18:15-20 are very clear that reconciliation with our brother in the faith is an essential part of true repentance. What does this have to do with prayer? A critical component of prayer is approaching God with the right motives and heart of submission without doublemindedness (James 1:6-8). Therefore, effective prayer comes from reconciled relationships and a heart that is willing to obey God’s will.

The principle behind such prayer is that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” “Effectual fervent” is one word in the Greek (energeo) and it simply translates “active.” He is describing serious prayer from a clean heart. Chuck Swindoll explains, “The righteous person has his or her attitude, priorities, and disposition oriented toward God’s will. That’s what causes the prayer of a righteous person to be effective and unusually powerful.” To prove the point, James calls to mind a powerful example from the Old Testament in the prayer life of the prophet Elijah. Elijah, next to Moses, was regarded as the greatest of prophets in Israel’s history. The miracles that God wrought through those two were unparalleled. James tells us something obvious, yet remarkable. Elijah “was a man subject to like passions as we are.” He tells us that Elijah was an ordinary man just like us. He wasn’t a superhuman or in possession some extraordinary power. James tells us that he simply “prayed earnestly” for something to happen and it did.

Now, before we think that this gives us the power to speak things into existence or manipulate God with our words, we have to understand what James says Elijah prayed for and why. This refers to Elijah’s ministry to Israel under the rule of the wicked King Ahab. In both 1 Kings 17:1 and 18:1, Elijah delivers the Word of God to Ahab that it will not rain and then rain respectively. What bearing does that have on James 5:17-18? Elijah’s prayer mentioned here was not some whimsical decision or declaration on his part, but rather Elijah’s prayer was according to God’s revealed Word to and through him to Ahab. In other words, Elijah prayed based upon what he knew God had said. Scripture is essential to prayer. We cannot pray righteously or effectively without it. A Puritan pastor once said, “When people do not mind what God speaks to them in His Word, God doth as little mind what they say to Him in prayer.” Martin Luther, known for his prayer life, once said, “To have prayed well is to have studied well.” There are two critical components of prayer illustrated in the life of Elijah and James’s teaching here. First, there is the need for God’s Word to inform and guide our prayers. We can only pray according to God’s will if we know His Word. Secondly, there is the need for heart in prayer. We must pray sincerely and with a submitted heart. It is the prayer of “a righteous man” that “availeth much.” Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” “The prayer of faith” (James 5:15) is the prayer that comes from the Word of God and a heart that is sincere before God. It is a prayer of confidence trusting in God and His revealed will.

Alfred Lord Tenneson once said, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” God’s people are to be praying people. When Jesus instructed His disciples on prayer, He didn’t say “If you pray,” but rather “When you pray” (Matthew 6:5). We must learn to pray as Jesus’s disciples had to learn (Luke 11:1). The way we learn to pray is from God’s Word. We both learn His will and His ways from His Word. We know what His will is, what He desires, and how He acts in this world by knowing His Word. How is your prayer life? Is it a joy to commune with God? Do you desire to pray for and with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Perhaps, you need to get started in this spiritual discipline. Commit today. Stop right now and pray. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or long (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3; Matthew 6:5-8). It just needs to be sincere, humble, and truthful. What burdens you? God says bring it to Him (1 Peter 5:6-7). Do you need help praying or in praying about something? God’s people are here. Find someone in your church family, your pastor, or your brother or sister in Christ and have them pray for or with you. “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Luke 11:1).