JAMES 5:13-18 - PAGE 1
FAITH WORKS PRAYERFULLY, PM 6/11/06
FAITH WORKS #16 – LAST IN THE SERIES
James is coming close to ending his Epistle and
decides to leave us with a stirring encouragement to pray.
All of these verses are in reference to prayer.
D. Edmond Hiebert says, “Through prayer the believer
habitually lays hold on God’s power for victory amid all these diverse
experiences. Prayer constitutes the very heart of a vital Christian faith.” D.
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
“Is anybody afflicted?” These were people who had been mistreated and
perhaps persecuted.
There will be times in our lives when we will either
literally be oppressed or feel oppressed. James 1:2, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
The afflicted are to pray!
Why? God is the
only true source of help! Psalm 42:5, Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7
THE PRAYER OF THE DELIGHTED – Vs. 13b
The prayer of the delighted is a song of praise.
I think that it is very easy for us to grumble, worry,
and complain when we are down.
It is also relatively easy to cry out to God when we
are down.
However, when things are going well, when we are
cheerful, and when things are just “peachy”, it is easy to forget that it is
God who is the source of these things. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Hebrews 13:16
THE PRAYER OF THE DESIGNATED – Vss. 14-15
Vss. 14-15 – The elders are the designated leaders
of the church. They are “elder” in their
maturity and often in their age.
Another term used to describe them is “bishop”. This
word means overseer.
When there is a severe problem, the elders of the
church are to be called upon.
Undoubtedly you are familiar with the traditional
interpretation of this passage.
When a person is sick he or she is to call for the
elders of the church. They are to anoint
that person with oil and the prayer of believing faith on the part of the
elders will save the sick. I have seen this happen.
I will still go with the elders of this church, pray,
and anoint with oil whenever I am called.
However, after reading some thoughts from John MacArthur and David
Roper, I think that it’s time to revise my thinking on this passage.
David Roper – “The word sick in verse 13 actually
means, ‘helpless’ or ‘impotent,’ and though it’s often used in the Gospels and
acts to refer to physical weakness, in the Epistles it almost always refers to
spiritual limitation and disability.
“The word sick appears again in verse 15: ‘The prayer
offered in faith will restore the one who is sick’ (NASB).
Here a different Greek word occurs that suggests
weariness and fatigue. It’s found in only one other place in the New Testament:
‘Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart’ (Hebrews 12:3-4).” David Roper, Growing Slowly Wise Building a Faith That Works, (
It seems to me that James is saying, “When things are
going the worst for you spiritually, call for the men who will be able to help
you. Ask them to pray for you and anoint
you with oil.”
This would certainly fit the duties of the elder as
described by the Apostle Peter. 1 Peter 5:2-3
And Paul gave these instructions to the elders who
were in Ephesus in Acts 20:28, Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased
with his own blood.
What would be the point of anointing with oil? I believe that the oil is symbolic of the
Spirit of God. It is the work of the
Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus that will actually restore the spiritual
condition of the one who is in the “slough of despond” spiritually.
Vs. 15 – Elders are to be prayer
warriors. They should know how to
intercede before God. It is their
“prayer of faith” that will restore the spiritually weary.
I assume that the one who is being prayed for has
confessed any known sin as part of this process.
Of course, as he confesses, he will be forgiven. 1
John 1:9
I think it ironic that most people will not hesitate
to ask for prayer if they are physically sick.
But how many would consider calling the elders of the church for prayer
and anointing when they have a spiritual problem.
I think that this is due to the fact that we place a
lot more emphasis on physical health than we do spiritual health! If you have a
severe spiritual need, I encourage you to seek spiritual help from the pastor
and elders of the church.
THE PRAYER OF THE DILIGENT – Vss. 16-18
Vs. 16 – James now expands his application
from those who are spiritually defeated to the whole congregation.
Peter is encouraging transparency.
We should be open to being honest about our sins with
other believers. I don’t think that
necessarily means that we must confess to the whole congregation. But I feel that there are those we feel
comfortable with that we should confess our faults to and seek their prayers in
overcoming them.
The rest of this verse is an encouragement for you and
I to pray passionately.
First it is to be the prayer of a righteous man or
woman.
We are to be righteous in position because we are
“justified by faith”.
We are also to be righteous in our practice. Those declared righteous by Jesus Christ
should live righteously. 1 Peter 1:15-16, Isaiah 59:1-2
When I am righteous in my position and my practice
then my prayers will be energized. They
will be passionate.
Vs. 17 – Now it is time for an example of
diligent prayer from Scripture
Elijah the prophet was a superstar so to speak.
·
He was miraculously fed by ravens
·
Through him a widow and her family were fed by a
barrel of meal and a cruise of oil until it rained.
·
He pronounced it wouldn’t rain until he said so, and
it didn’t
·
He had a great confrontation with the prophets of baal
and won, praying down fire from heaven.
·
He prayed for rain and it did. Then he outran a
chariot in the pouring rain.
·
He called for fire from heaven to destroy soldiers
·
He went to Heaven in a whirlwind.
James is using Elijah as an example of diligent
prayer.
But first, because people thought of Elijah as a
superstar, he told them one very important thing.
“Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are.”
He was a man just like us.
He could sin just like us.
He had struggles just like us. Why he even got
extremely depressed after a great victory.
But James is telling us that we can have success like
Elijah, because what seemingly made him different was his passionate prayers.
So he prayed that it would not rain and it didn’t.
So he prayed for fire from Heaven to burn up a
sacrifice and it came.
He went up into a mountain and prayed for rain and it
rained! 1 Kings 18:41-46
Elijah was a man of passionate prayer.
Elijah was a man of persistent prayer.
Elijah was a man of proper prayer (according to the
will of God).
THE PRAYER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN – Vs. 13a
THE PRAYER OF THE DELIGHTED – Vs. 13b
THE PRAYER OF THE DESIGNATED – Vss. 14-15
THE PRAYER OF THE DILIGENT – Vss. 16-18
RETURN TO HEBREWS – PHILEMON INDEX