Prayer (James 5:13-18)
A frail, 93-year-old Norma Hagerman was being released from the hospital to go to rehab. Norma had been in and out of the hospital, and it was fairly obvious that her body wasn’t going to survive much longer.
Nick, Norma’s husband of 75 years, was in her room, pacing back and forth, when I arrived. Nick told Norma that he was worried about whether or not rehab would really help her. Norma asked Nick, “Have you prayed about it?” Nick said, “Of course I have.” Norma quipped, “Then you’d best quit worrying about it.”
How much do you believe in prayer’s power? When is the last time you prayed about your health? When’s the last time you poured your heart out to God because your marriage was struggling? When’s the last time you knelt before God because of your sin?
James encouraged his readers to pray, for “Prayer has great power.”
James’ readers suffered persecution. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (Js 1:2). “As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (Js 5:10). Because they suffered, James’ readers needed to know that “Prayer has great power.”
You may not face persecution like these early disciples, but you still suffer. Doctors don’t always have the best news for us or our loved ones. Marriages have their problems. Temptations make us sore. Grief clouds our days. Guilt crushes our hearts. And we need to know “Prayer has great power.”
Scripture (James 5:13-18)
verse 13:
Suffering oppression called for prayer.
verses 14-15:
Because of the close connection between confessing sin and healing, I understand these verses to refer to spiritual rather than physical illness. Whether I’m right or wrong, the point remains: prayer has great power.
verse 16:
Not all prayer has great power—only the prayer of a righteous person.
verse 17-18:
Elijah prayed for a famine; the resulting famine lasted 3 and a half years. Elijah then prayed for rain; rain fell and ended the famine. Some might be tempted to think that Elijah was heard because he was a prophet or had special power—he was just like anyone else.
Application
Elijah’s prayer of faith demonstrates “Prayer has great power.” The promise of forgiveness shows “Prayer has great power.” The raising up of the sick proves “Prayer has great power.”
How should you pray because “Prayer has great power?”
One: You pray in your Suffering.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray” (Js 5:13). Jesus prayed when he was Suffering: “He said to [Peter, James, and John], ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.’ And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed” (Mk 14:34-35). Paul prayed when he was Suffering: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about [the thorn in the flesh], that it should leave me” (2 Cor 12:8).
When you are Suffering, pray! For when you pray, you talk with the only One who can help you.
Two: You pray when you see Sickness.
“The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick” (Js 5:15). While I understand the Sickness to be spiritual, it’s always right to pray for the sick. When Miriam became leprous, Moses prayed, “O God, please heal her—please” (Num 12:13). When Jeroboam’s hand “dried up” so that it remained outstretched, a “man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before” (1 Ki 13:6).
God promises to answer prayer: “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 Jn 5:14-15). Pray for the sick that God might answer according to his will.
Three: You pray for your Sinfulness.
“Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (Js 5:16). You know how right it is to pray in your Sinfulness. “I said, ‘I will confess my transgression to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Ps 32:5). Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12). After Simon fell back into sin, Peter told him, “Repent . . . of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord” (Acts 8:22).
Do you pray about your Sinfulness? When you sin, do you repent and pray to God?
Four: You pray for your Supply.
Elijah “prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit” (Js 5:18). God gives an abundant Supply when you pray. Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt 6:11).
All food comes from God. The Lord “did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Before the shipwreck on Malta, Paul “took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat” (Acts 27:35).
Since what you have comes from God, it’s only right to ask God for your daily bread. How often do you ask God for your daily bread? When was the last time you thanked God for your Supply?
Do you need to come this morning and allow God to supply you with salvation as we stand and sing?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.