Day 21 - 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting
Day 21 - James 5:13-18
SCRIPTURE:
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.
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.
LESSON:
A couple of thoughts as we close out our prayer and fasting time for this January. We have been studying through James each day and also in our sermon series on Sundays. Each Sunday we have been building on the previous week. The first Sunday we looked at the prayer of FAITH which is a prayer of total trust in God. It is prayer without doubt or double mindedness. It is a prayer that leads us into the second type of prayer that we studied, the prayer of SUBMISSION. This is the prayer that responds to God’s will and aligns with it. James reminds us that we ask and do not receive because we ask according to our desires and not the will of God. The prayer of faith and the prayer of submission work together. We trust God therefore we submit to God. And this leads us to the prayer of COMMUNITY.
Both the prayer of faith and the prayer of submission lead us into a deeper more relational community. Not only with God but also the church, our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we see both prayers in these passages. It’s the prayer of faith, done in community, that will save the sick. And it’s the prayer of submission, seen in the act of confession, that opens up the authenticity needed to truly live in communion with each other. Both of these prayers are in the context of community. The prayer prayed in unity of purpose and spirit is a powerful thing. The promise of Jesus to be wherever two or three are gathered in his name is made in the context of prayer. You might say it like this: wherever two or three agree according to God’s will and bring it to him in prayer God’s power will be in their midst. And this leads us into the fourth prayer, the prayer of POWER.
A prayer can only be powerful if it is prayed in faith. Faith is the key to unlocking so much of what God wants to do in our lives! Likewise a prayer that submits to God’s will opens up the full storehouse of God’s blessing and provision! The power of the Holy Spirit can only be unleashed in our lives through our surrender to Spirit. I often say that God doesn’t need us to be more committed, he needs us to be more surrendered.
James tells us that the effective, fervent prayer of the RIGHTEOUS man avails much. So what does a righteous man look like? Is James saying that only the best of the best can pray a prayer that is powerful and effective?
I have always looked up to my Grandpa, Dr. James Keaton. He was a successful pastor, missionary leader, college president and was often described as a “prince of preachers.” A few years ago he visited my church and I asked him to lead us in prayer during the morning service. As the congregation left after the service, I heard several people commenting on the “powerful” prayer that he had led. And it was powerful! His voice, his projection and his words made quite an impression! The solemnity and sincerity of his prayer made people stop and take notice.
This reminded me of a time when I was a brand new Christian. I was still battling various temptations and often felt like a complete failure. I struggled to feel like my prayers were powerful in part because I couldn’t measure up to what I perceived to be the “righteous man” in James chapter five. My grandfather was someone I attempted to emulate. But the more I tried to be like him the more I realized I couldn’t quite measure up, no matter how hard I tried. I would often find myself going to the altar to pray. I would tell God that I would do better. I would commit to do this or that, or to stop doing something that I felt God was convicting me of. What I was actually trying to do was to prove to God that I was worthy of his love and blessing. And that I was righteous enough to have my prayers to be answered.
I had it all wrong. The righteous man is not something we create. It is something that God does in us and for us. My commitment to God was a promise to do something for God. That’s not what he was asking of me. God had to show me that what was required of me was not a greater commitment but a deeper surrender to his ways. He would make me righteous. I didn’t need to do anything for him, rather he wanted to do something for me. He wanted to pour out his power in my life in a transformative way.
When James tells us that the “effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” He is not describing some superhuman person who is above the rest of us. He says as much in verse seventeen. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…” He was just like you and me. But he prayed earnestly and God did some amazing things through his prayers!
Our takeaway should be that if we pray with faith, submitting to God and in communion with God and each other, God will do great things through our prayers. It’s never about what we can do for God. Instead it’s about what God wants to do in us, around us and through us. And if he can use Elijah, a man “just like us,” then he can and will use us too! Let’s begin to pray with that kind of mentality!
A couple of thoughts as we close out our prayer and fasting time for this January. We have been studying through James each day and also in our sermon series on Sundays. Each Sunday we have been building on the previous week. The first Sunday we looked at the prayer of FAITH which is a prayer of total trust in God. It is prayer without doubt or double mindedness. It is a prayer that leads us into the second type of prayer that we studied, the prayer of SUBMISSION. This is the prayer that responds to God’s will and aligns with it. James reminds us that we ask and do not receive because we ask according to our desires and not the will of God. The prayer of faith and the prayer of submission work together. We trust God therefore we submit to God. And this leads us to the prayer of COMMUNITY.
Both the prayer of faith and the prayer of submission lead us into a deeper more relational community. Not only with God but also the church, our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we see both prayers in these passages. It’s the prayer of faith, done in community, that will save the sick. And it’s the prayer of submission, seen in the act of confession, that opens up the authenticity needed to truly live in communion with each other. Both of these prayers are in the context of community. The prayer prayed in unity of purpose and spirit is a powerful thing. The promise of Jesus to be wherever two or three are gathered in his name is made in the context of prayer. You might say it like this: wherever two or three agree according to God’s will and bring it to him in prayer God’s power will be in their midst. And this leads us into the fourth prayer, the prayer of POWER.
A prayer can only be powerful if it is prayed in faith. Faith is the key to unlocking so much of what God wants to do in our lives! Likewise a prayer that submits to God’s will opens up the full storehouse of God’s blessing and provision! The power of the Holy Spirit can only be unleashed in our lives through our surrender to Spirit. I often say that God doesn’t need us to be more committed, he needs us to be more surrendered.
James tells us that the effective, fervent prayer of the RIGHTEOUS man avails much. So what does a righteous man look like? Is James saying that only the best of the best can pray a prayer that is powerful and effective?
I have always looked up to my Grandpa, Dr. James Keaton. He was a successful pastor, missionary leader, college president and was often described as a “prince of preachers.” A few years ago he visited my church and I asked him to lead us in prayer during the morning service. As the congregation left after the service, I heard several people commenting on the “powerful” prayer that he had led. And it was powerful! His voice, his projection and his words made quite an impression! The solemnity and sincerity of his prayer made people stop and take notice.
This reminded me of a time when I was a brand new Christian. I was still battling various temptations and often felt like a complete failure. I struggled to feel like my prayers were powerful in part because I couldn’t measure up to what I perceived to be the “righteous man” in James chapter five. My grandfather was someone I attempted to emulate. But the more I tried to be like him the more I realized I couldn’t quite measure up, no matter how hard I tried. I would often find myself going to the altar to pray. I would tell God that I would do better. I would commit to do this or that, or to stop doing something that I felt God was convicting me of. What I was actually trying to do was to prove to God that I was worthy of his love and blessing. And that I was righteous enough to have my prayers to be answered.
I had it all wrong. The righteous man is not something we create. It is something that God does in us and for us. My commitment to God was a promise to do something for God. That’s not what he was asking of me. God had to show me that what was required of me was not a greater commitment but a deeper surrender to his ways. He would make me righteous. I didn’t need to do anything for him, rather he wanted to do something for me. He wanted to pour out his power in my life in a transformative way.
When James tells us that the “effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” He is not describing some superhuman person who is above the rest of us. He says as much in verse seventeen. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…” He was just like you and me. But he prayed earnestly and God did some amazing things through his prayers!
Our takeaway should be that if we pray with faith, submitting to God and in communion with God and each other, God will do great things through our prayers. It’s never about what we can do for God. Instead it’s about what God wants to do in us, around us and through us. And if he can use Elijah, a man “just like us,” then he can and will use us too! Let’s begin to pray with that kind of mentality!
PRAYER:
Father, guide our prayers. Help us to see your power as we seek your face. Manifest your strength and majesty and perform miraculous things in our lives as we surrender to you! For all that you do we will give you all the praise! Amen.
Father, guide our prayers. Help us to see your power as we seek your face. Manifest your strength and majesty and perform miraculous things in our lives as we surrender to you! For all that you do we will give you all the praise! Amen.
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2 Comments
I am so thankful and appreciative of how these 21 days has shaped me in so many ways as I continue to serve him.
What a great message for today's last reading. As pastor Melvin said God doesn't want us to be more committed. He wants us to be more surrendered and that can be so hard at times but God's grace is enough for us to get us where he wants us to be.
n However long it take. That's how amazing our God is.