THE POWER OF PRAYER
James 5:13-18 NKJV
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
James gives us some wonderful insights into prayer in these six verses. There are some great prayer parameters in this short passage.
Who should pray? James, speaking by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us that the ones who are suffering are to pray. The Wuest translation says, "Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? Let him keep on constantly praying." Is anyone going through a difficult time, let him pray. Notice James, in his typical to-the-point manner, does not soften up his counsel. Are you going through a tough time? Then pray. And prayer is not wasted effort; God can help and comfort. And if you are in good times, then give praise and sing psalms to God.
If you are sick, then call for the church leaders and have them pray. They are to anoint you with oil in the name of Jesus. "And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up." James is not leaving much room for doubt. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will, are very definitive statements. Notice the progression; the one who is sick is to request prayer from the church leaders. The leaders are to anoint them with oil in the name of Jesus, representing Him. The prayer of faith is a prayer that does not waver on the Lord's will for the sick. The prayer of faith will not end with, Lord, if it be Your will. That is a different kind of prayer to dedicate our direction and steps to the will of the Lord. The prayer of faith is believing that the Lord wants to and will raise up the sick one.
Notice the second benefit to anointing with oil and praying the prayer of faith over the sick. If they have sinned the Lord will also forgive them. This makes it so much easier for the sick to believe that the Lord will heal and raise them up. Too often a sense of condemnation holds people back from receiving what the Lord has for them. What a merciful package from God!
Then James encourages us to confess where we have missed it, to be humble, not trying to lord it over our family in the Lord, and to pray for one another that we may be healed. One thing James is making clear is that healing is God's plan for His family. Being genuine and transparent, as well as praying for others is another path to our own healing.
Then James makes a statement that should have us fired up about prayer. He states that "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Here is how other translations read on this powerful statement. Young's Literal Translation, "very strong is a working supplication of a righteous man." Weymouth Translation, "The heartfelt supplication of a righteous man exerts a mighty influence." Wuest Translation, "A prayer of a righteous person is able to do much as it operates." The NLT, a more modern translation, reads, "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." So, regardless of the translation, the emphasis is the same. A person who is in right standing with God and prays is in a position to watch God do some great things.
James goes on to talk about Elijah. He takes Elijah out of an exalted position and says he was a man just like us. But he prayed at God's direction, and there was no rain for years. And he prayed again, and it poured. This is an insight into the fact that Elijah was working with God in prayer, which is a devotional for another day. But the important thing to grasp is that Elijah was like us, not in a superhuman category.
APPLICATION
I believe one of the best things we can do to apply this passage is to seek the Lord on how we can become more effective in our prayers. So many have prayed, not received answers, and given up on prayer. And I get it. We tend to avoid the things that are not productive. But what if we just cleared the past and asked the Lord to help us pray more effectively? We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
PRAYER
Lord, please teach me to become more effective in my prayers. You hear me and You help me and I can learn to pray better!