The Prayer of Faith

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Sermon

Prayer & Praise

James 5:13 ESV

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Suffering? Pray!

Christians aren’t always on the mountaintop of faith

Believers face challenges

physical

mental

personal

financial

spiritual

religious

We get depressed , and it can be hard to be joyful

Timothy suffered from anxiety and stomach issues

Believers had a great deal to be anxious about

James urges to turns to God in prayer

Peter speaks of Anxiety...

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Paul commends - Pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)

Ephesians 6:18 ESV

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

return...

James 5:13 ESV

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Cheerful? Sing Praise!

Psalm 33:2–3 ESV

Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

Colossians 3:16 ESV

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

We ought to be prayerfully patient in adversity and thankfully happy in prosperity.

Prayer & Faith

James 5:14–15 ESV

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. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Is anyone sick?

Call the elders of the church

Pray over him and annoint with oil in the name of the Lord

The primary instruction is prayer!

Olive oil had medicinal qualities - common medicine

Samaritan applied oil and win to the wounded man along the Jericho Road

Oilive Oil Soothed

Wine was antiseptic

Jesus never used olive oil

The prayer offerin faith will make the sick person well

Elders pour out their prayers on behalf of the sick

They depend fully on the Lord, who will grant healing

They offer their prayers in faith because they have the promise of teh Lord will heal the sick

If he has sinned, he will be forgiven

Jesus heals soul and body to make man complete

Mark 2:5 ESV

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark 2:9–11 ESV

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

Job suffered from painful boils but he knew that his affliction had not come to him because of sin.

God had allowed the affliction to test his faith

Yet his friends urged him to confess his sin

Job maintained his innocence and integrity

Nevertheless, a sick person ought to examine their spiritual life to “see if there is any offensive way in” them.

Guilty consciences can cause many physical ailments

God used periods of sickness in the life of believers to have them self-examine and plea for the forgiving grace of God

John 5:14 ESV

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”

With regard to the Lords Table, paul said ...

1 Corinthians 11:29–30 ESV

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

1 Corinthians 11:31–32 ESV

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Power of Prayer

James 5:16 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Confess

Unconfessed sin blocks the pathway of prayer to God

Confess your sins not only to God but also to the person who have been injured by your sins (ask them for forgiveness)

Roman Catholics have interpresed confession too narrowly

Many may be tempted to interpret it too broadly

Pray

Offender and offended pray on behalf of each other

Forgiven sinner prays for the spiritual weldare of his fellow believer

The offended commend them to the mercies of God

Be healed

James is vague on spiritual or physical healing

What is certain, is when believers confess their sins to each other and pray for one another a healing process takes place.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

An Example

James 5:17–18 ESV

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

Luke 4:25 (ESV)

… there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,

3 years 6 months

Idiom for “For quite some time”

Jews also count a part of a period as the whole period (e.g. Jesus rose on the 3rd day - 3 days and 3 nights)

His unswerving commitment to prayer

Rescuing the Wayward

James 5:19–20 ESV

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

responsibility of mutual care

when one wanders from the truth

someone brings him back

Tactfully reproving a person who is wandering from the truth is one of the most difficult tasks in the work of the church

with loving concern the curch must seek out those who are wandering from the truth and urge them to come back

let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wanderings will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins

Hymn -

Q&A

Hymn -

Closing Prayer

Doxology

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