A Call for Prayer

James 5:13-16

Introduction

James had practiced what he had preached. James was a man prayer and here once more he emphasized the need for prayer. The word “pray” is mentioned 3 times in these six verses, “prayer” once, and “prayed” twice. Let’s take a look to each and every one of them

I. The need to pray. James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
A. When in affliction, the Greek word here means hardships, and all sorts of trouble. This includes sickness, bereavement, disappointment, persecutions, and loss of health or property. It’s always a privilege for us to come to Christ in prayer.
B. The need to sing Psalms 5:13b

To be merry is to be happy, free from trouble, the opposite of affliction. If a man is in good health, no worries, in prosperity and with good friends
Not only in happy and joyful times but also in times of trouble, we need to sing praises also as Paul and Silas did when they are in prison. Acts 16:25. Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Illustration 1: Pray and Praise
The general rule is, if you are facing a problem, then pray about it and continue praying until it’s over. When you suffer, pray. Prayer is antidote to hardship. In times of difficulties, prayer is our greatest weapon. We need to pray privately and we need to pray with others. Do you have joy in your heart? Then sing psalms or sing praises to the Lord. When you are happy in Christ, express it through singing. There is a time for prayer and there is a time for singing.

II. When you are sick (James 5:15-16)

A. When you are sick. James 5:14-15 Verses 14 and 15 is difficult to explain. Various interpretations go beyond proper explanation. The problem is what is meant by anointing with oil, and in what way God will heal the sick. If the healing is miraculous then we have the question of whether or not the instruction was intended for the church today. Some important information here are:

This is not a healing meeting. Nowhere does God teach us concerning a meeting where sick people are told to attend for miraculous healing. No example of the NT church having such a meeting. The sick Christian is not instructed to attend a church where they will be publicly healed. (Healing Crusades)
The elders do not call for the sick, but the sick for the elders, (plural) not one only.
The sick Christian calls for the elders of his local church whom he had mutual fellowship and spiritual guidance. Elders includes the Pastor and the Deacons.
The sickness here is physical not spiritual. Physically sick because of sin.
The use of oil for anointing was a general Jewish practice, and a Jewish custom which the Lord’s disciples adopted (Mk. 6:13). Mark 6:13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
However, it was for sprains, scrape and bruises. It would never help heart disease, cancer, pneumonia or any serious sickness. Oil in this passage is not medicinal.
The Oil here is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. The anointing with oil was symbolic of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. If there is healing it is not up to the elders. The elders have no special gift or powers. It is the Holy Spirit who touches people’s lives and brings healing.
By invoking the name of the Lord, James is saying that this procedure is to be done by the Lord’s authority. To anoint in the name of the Lord is to acknowledge that only by His power are people blessed; we have no power in ourselves and there is no power in religious rituals. The fact that the sick is anointed in the name of the Lord shows that this procedure is not a matter of using oil as a remedy for sickness (as in Luke 10:34).
However, the emphasis is not on the oil, but on the “prayer of faith” which saves the sick.
Such prayer works when “it is God’s will to heal”. God does the healing.
The fact that God does the healing in James 5:15 in no way imply that medicine could not be given. Medicines are blessings from God and have the capability to heal.
It is my opinion that any sick person who drinks medicine and got healed overcomes his sickness because he used such blessing from the Lord.
Christians who deliberately refuse to go to a doctor and take medicines, demanding that God would do all, is committing a very big mistake.

B. Prayer of faith. (James 5:15)

What is the prayer of faith? Notice here that it is not the oil that heals, but the prayer of faith. Divine healers get this one wrong. When one of their victims fail to get healed it is always claimed that the person coming for healing didn’t have enough faith. However, we see here it not the faith of the person coming, but the faith of the ones praying.
This is not a promise of healing in all cases. We must compare Scripture with Scripture, and elsewhere we find that God does not always heal. Timothy was not healed of his often infirmities 1 Tim. 5:23). Trophimus was not healed when he was sick in Miletum (2 Ti. 4:20). Paul was not healed of the sickness describe in 2 Cor. 12:7-10. when God does not heal and does not grant release, we must bow to His will and accept that situation as something from the hand of God. This is not lack of faith; it is obedience to the sovereignty of Almighty God.
James does not promise immediate healing. James does not say when or how God will do this.
God can heal with or without means; in each case, it is God who does the healing.
So then what is the prayer of faith that heals the sick? I believe it is found in the first epistle of John. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 Jn. 5:14-15) Notice three important truths here.

a. First, the Confidence. And this is the confidence that we have in him. The word confidence means boldness and carries the idea of “freedom of speech.” Praise God! We can have boldness when we come before God in prayer. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). We must understand that prayer is both a privilege and a command. Jesus said, “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Too many are becoming faint and failing in their walk for Christ. The word faint means to be weak or weary and carries the idea of being exhausted. Jesus put His finger on one of man’s biggest prayer problems. One of the reasons for failure in the Christian life is trying to labor apart from prayer. Prayer makes God a partner in our work. Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). My friend, if you do not have confidence in prayer, you will faint in the work.
b. Second, the Condition. John further explains that our confidence is conditional. He adds, “if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” You will notice the biggest little word in the English language—the word “if.” Surely God will answer prayer, but there are conditions to be met. One of those conditions is clearly set forth here. We must ask “according to his will.” The first fundamental of prayer is that we must ask according to God’s will. However, before we can ask His will, we must know His will and the only way to know the will of God is to spend time with Him in His Word. In other words, this promise of answered prayer is for those who are delighting themselves in the Lord and walking in fellowship with Him. “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:4-5). The condition of answered prayer is that we delight ourselves in the Lord, commit ourselves to His ways. We must live according to the Word of God in order to enjoy answered prayer. John said earlier, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22). If we are walking according to His will, then we will ask the right things of Him. That is, if we are delighting in Him, we will ask only those things that are pleasing to Him. Here is the bottom line. If our Lord prayed, “Not my will, but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42), surely we should follow His example and seek only those things that fall within the boundaries of His will.
c. Third, the Courage. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. John said, if we know that he hear us. Many are defeated in their prayer life because they do not have the confidence that God will answer their prayer. Walking in the will of God will build your prayer life and your faith as God answers your prayer.

III. The need to confess sin and to pray for one another. James 5:16 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.
A. To confess is to admit openly, to agree you are wrong.
B. James is instructing us to confess those faults that are committed against other brethren. He is not asking us to confess our deepest sins that we have committed against God. Those are confessed to God directly. We confess faults to man that we have committed against man, and we confess sins to God that we have committed against God. “The confession referred to is for ‘faults’ with reference to ‘one another,’ that is, where one has injured another; and nothing is said of confessing faults to those whom we have not injured at all.
C. Acknowledging our sin is the first step in Spiritual restoration
D. We are exhorted to pray for one another so that the Lord will heal us.

Illustration: Confession of sin
Private sin requires private confession. Public sin requires public confession. Public sin brings reproach to the church and to the body of Christ as a whole. Jimmy Swaggart confessed publicly when he was caught committing adultery. We must confess our sins first to God and then to the person we have wronged. Roman Catholic confession of sin to the priest who has the power to cause absolution of sin is not Biblical. Only God can forgive sin, and if we follow the scriptures, the priest also must confess his sins to us.

IV. Fervent prayer. James 5:16b
A. To be fervent is to be earnest, eager, with great warmth, with earnest zeal. Praying constantly. In modern words, hot, energetic.
B. The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, meaning his prayer can accomplish much.
C. James’ example was Elijah, a man of “like passion as we are” which tells us of his weaknesses, as well as his remarkable faith. He prayed fervently and his prayer was answered by God.

V. Conclusion
The Word of God tells us to pray and we should do so. (1 Thess. 5:16). In any situation, we should not forget to pray. Difficult times calls for a time to pray more. Joyful times calls for thanksgiving and praise. Our Lord Jesus Christ delights in answering the fervent prayers of righteous. The power of prayer cannot be separated from the character of the man who prays. Let us go to God in prayer and experience love, joy, blessings, peace beyond understanding.