When You Are In Need, Prayer Is Able To Do Much
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Text: James 5:13-16
13 Is anyone among you suffering bad things? Let him pray! Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises!
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the church, and let them pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord;
15 and the prayer offered in strong faith will restore the one who is sick to health, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven to him.
16 Therefore keep confessing your sins to one another, and keep praying for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is able to do much when it is at work.
Sermon:
Are you in need? If so, what is your problem? Being handicapped? Sickness? Terminal illness? Forthcoming death? Problems at home? Problems at work? Unemployment? A guilty conscience? A sinful habit you have not yet kicked? Whatever your problem and need, pray! For the prayer of a Christian is able to do much.
One day years ago in Kansas City, while I sat in a waiting room for an appointment, two women talked across the room to one another. They discussed the problems and hardships they were experiencing in life. One of them said that when she had been younger she used to pray about her problems but that she had not prayed about them for years, because her prayers were never answered.
Does the Lord answer prayers, or not? Let’s find out. These verses from the Book of James inform us: “When You Are In Need, Prayer Is Able To Do Much. So Pray For Your Physical Needs. And Pray For Your Spiritual Needs.”
Does the Lord answer prayers? Listen to what the Lord says in this text, then decide for yourself. He says, “The prayer of a righteous person is able to do much when it is at work.” Well, does the Lord answer prayers? He certainly does. Prayer is able to do much when it is at work.
Whose prayers does he answer? According to the above verse, he answers the prayers of the righteous, not the wicked. The righteous in the Bible are the believers in Jesus. They are pure and perfect before God through the blood of Jesus Christ, for his blood has washed away all of their sins. But the prayers of the wicked, who live in sin and do not believe in Jesus Christ; are not answered. The prayers of the hypocrites, who outwardly appear to be Christians but really are not, are not answered. If that woman’s prayers were not answered as she said, then the reason rested within herself, not with the Lord.
The prayers of the believers in Jesus are able to do much when they are at work. When a prayer is offered up to the Lord, it goes to work and produces results. It grabs the Lord’s attention. He hears it. He is moved by it. He answers it. He acts upon it.
But now, does the Lord answer each and every prayer of the believer in Jesus? The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” For each prayer is powerful and effective and accomplishes much. The Lord does not ignore a single prayer. The Lord has said in Psalm 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
Since this is the case, why do we not receive everything we ask for? There may be one of several reasons. First, we may not receive what we ask for because our motive is wrong. James 4:3 states, “You ask and yet you do not receive, because you ask for the wrong reasons, in order that you may squander what you receive in your pleasures.” For example: if one of us were to pray that the Lord would bless our work with a large income, he may refuse to answer that prayer because he knows what we really want is a lot of money to enjoy the pleasures of life. On the other hand, if we were to ask him to bless our work with a large income, he may grant that request because he knows we will use that money to pay for a sick person’s surgery or to finance a mission in a foreign country or use that money for some other great good. He may answer the one prayer but not answer the other, because the motives are different.
Or, our prayer may be denied because the Lord knows either it is not the time for us to have it, or he knows it is not good for us to have it. For example, would any of us give a ten year old boy a car to drive if he asked for it? Of course not! He is too young and not ready to drive a car; he is sure to hurt himself and likely to kill someone else. The Lord may deal with us in a similar fashion, as he sees where we are in our spiritual life and on our pathway to heaven. As an example, the Lord did not take away Paul’s thorn in the flesh, even though Paul prayed most earnestly three times that he would take it away. For the Lord knew that Paul would fall into the sin of pride and conceit if he took that thorn in the flesh away.
To state the matter simply, the Lord may deny our requests because he knows better than we do what is good for us at the time. His “No” is an answer to our prayer. In effect his answer is better for us than what we had asked for. Our problem is that sometimes we do not want to accept his “No” for an answer. Here is another reason he may not give us what we ask for: he may deny our prayer to teach us to be content with what he has given to us already. In any case, he does hear our every prayer of faith. He then answers it according to his will and what he knows is best for us. And sometimes his answer is “No”.
One more example: On occasion a congregation has prayed that the Lord would restore a seriously ill member to health, but the Christian died. Does that mean that the congregation’s prayer was not powerful and effective and was not answered? Not at all!! It means the Lord’s will was to give that Christian everlasting life in heaven, which was far better for him than a restored health here on earth. In faith we need to accept whatever is the Lord’s good and gracious will for us, even death if that is the case. And being with the Lord in heaven is far better than being here on earth.
Having heard the Lord does answer prayers, what kind of prayers can we bring to him? This text gives us some good examples. The examples in this text are covered in the Lord’s Prayer under the petitions, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Let us look first at the examples covered by the Fourth Petition “Give us this day our daily bread.” The fourth petition asks for all that we need in this world for our body and life.
James wrote in this text, “Is anyone among you suffering bad things? Let him pray!” Are you suffering bad things? If so, what? Are you suffering economic misfortunes? Are you out of work? Will you be laid off from your job? Are you suffering ill-treatment from others? Are you being mocked and persecuted for your Christian faith? Have you had your home or car stolen or damaged? Have you been hurt in an accident? Are you elderly and have fallen and been hurt? Whatever your misfortune may be, and whenever you are in need, pray about it, for your prayer is able to do much.
James also wrote, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the church, and let them pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.” The seriously ill are urged to call their pastors or elders. Olive oil was not used by the ancients as a last rite to prepare the sick for death; rather, it was rubbed on the body like alcohol or salve is used in our age to sooth the body. The important emphasis according to this verse was not the oiling of the sick but the praying for the life and soul of the sick. Thus we do not apply oil to the sick but we pray at the bedside of the sick. We go to the sick to attend to their spiritual needs and to pray for them. So if and when you are sick, pray. Your prayer is able to do much.
On the other hand, James wrote, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises!” When the Lord has poured out his blessings on us and we are happy and cheerful, then it is time to sing his praise. We may do that in songs and hymns, or we may do that in prayers as well. Either way, the giving of thanks is called for. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “ Keep giving thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
We are encouraged to give thanks in everything. But do we do that? Do our prayers always include a giving of thanks? Or are our prayers like mother’s shopping list that has no word of thanks at the end of it? Whatever happens during the day, we can thank the Lord for it. Maybe we are richly blessed. Maybe our day goes smoothly and well. Maybe we suffer misfortune. Maybe we are sick. Maybe we do not receive what we had prayed for. Whatever happens, we can thank God for it, for as a child of God in Christ Jesus we know that God always deals with us in a way that is for our good. For we know from his word in Romans 8:28 that he causes all things to work for our good – even misfortunes and sickness, as well as good times of happiness.
In answer to the question, then, “ What can we pray for since the Lord hears and answers our prayers?” you can pray for whatever you need for your body and life, as you do when you pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “ Give us this day our daily bread.” And above all make sure that you pray for your spiritual needs.
If you analyzed the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, you would learn that Jesus taught us to pray for six spiritual blessings and only one temporal blessing, namely our daily bread. That model prayer teaches us that our greatest concern should be for the Lord’s spiritual blessings. Accordingly, this text now directs our attention to the blessing of God’s forgiveness, which we ask for when we pray, “ Forgive us our trespasses.”
James wrote in this text, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the church, and let them pray for him . . . and the prayer offered in strong faith will restore the one who is sick to health, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven to him.” The sick were to call their pastors or elders to attend to their needs and to pray for them. Such prayers for the sick were offered to the Lord like all prayers are brought to the Lord, with the request that it be done if it is according to his will. If it were his will, would he restore the ailing Christian to health? And when it was the Lord’s will to do so, he did restore the ailing Christian to health and raised him up.
But even more important than the healing of the Christian’s body was the healing of his sin-sick soul. And in response to the prayers in behalf of the sick Christian the Lord forgave him whatever sins he had committed and of which he might be guilty.
Healthy or sick we all need a spiritual healing. For we all are sinners, as the Lord himself has said. Maybe we have blamed God for not answering our prayers. Maybe we have doubted his goodness in denying our prayers. Maybe we have fallen from faith and stopped praying like that woman did. If we have not sinned in any of those ways, we no doubt have sinned in a thousand other ways.
Whatever our sins have been, how reassuring to know that when we repent and believe in Jesus, the Lord says that if we have committed sins, they will be forgiven to us. Yes, the Lord is good: he has forgiven you and me of all our many sins against him.
But his forgiveness came at a great price. God is not an unjust judge who ignores sin without punishing the transgression. He demanded a price be paid for our sins, a price that none of us could ever pay. He demanded the death and punishment of one who was innocent in the place of us who were guilty. And then, to make it possible that such a high price could be paid, he sent his only son, Jesus. Jesus was perfect. He was born without sin and lived a sinless life as our substitute. He then paid the price for our sins – he gave his innocent life into death for us on the cross. In return for the priceless life and blood that Jesus gave as the payment for our sins, God declared all of our sins forgiven.
What salvation is now ours! What joy is now ours! What comfort is now ours! We have been healed of all our sins. We are now the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And as the children of God our prayers are able to do much. Therefore pray! Pray for your physical needs. Pray for your spiritual needs. For the Lord hears and answers us believers in Jesus.
Amen.
Text: James 5:13-16
13 Is anyone among you suffering bad things? Let him pray! Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises!
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the church, and let them pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord;
15 and the prayer offered in strong faith will restore the one who is sick to health, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven to him.
16 Therefore keep confessing your sins to one another, and keep praying for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is able to do much when it is at work.
Sermon:
Are you in need? If so, what is your problem? Being handicapped? Sickness? Terminal illness? Forthcoming death? Problems at home? Problems at work? Unemployment? A guilty conscience? A sinful habit you have not yet kicked? Whatever your problem and need, pray! For the prayer of a Christian is able to do much.
One day years ago in Kansas City, while I sat in a waiting room for an appointment, two women talked across the room to one another. They discussed the problems and hardships they were experiencing in life. One of them said that when she had been younger she used to pray about her problems but that she had not prayed about them for years, because her prayers were never answered.
Does the Lord answer prayers, or not? Let’s find out. These verses from the Book of James inform us: “When You Are In Need, Prayer Is Able To Do Much. So Pray For Your Physical Needs. And Pray For Your Spiritual Needs.”
Does the Lord answer prayers? Listen to what the Lord says in this text, then decide for yourself. He says, “The prayer of a righteous person is able to do much when it is at work.” Well, does the Lord answer prayers? He certainly does. Prayer is able to do much when it is at work.
Whose prayers does he answer? According to the above verse, he answers the prayers of the righteous, not the wicked. The righteous in the Bible are the believers in Jesus. They are pure and perfect before God through the blood of Jesus Christ, for his blood has washed away all of their sins. But the prayers of the wicked, who live in sin and do not believe in Jesus Christ; are not answered. The prayers of the hypocrites, who outwardly appear to be Christians but really are not, are not answered. If that woman’s prayers were not answered as she said, then the reason rested within herself, not with the Lord.
The prayers of the believers in Jesus are able to do much when they are at work. When a prayer is offered up to the Lord, it goes to work and produces results. It grabs the Lord’s attention. He hears it. He is moved by it. He answers it. He acts upon it.
But now, does the Lord answer each and every prayer of the believer in Jesus? The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” For each prayer is powerful and effective and accomplishes much. The Lord does not ignore a single prayer. The Lord has said in Psalm 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
Since this is the case, why do we not receive everything we ask for? There may be one of several reasons. First, we may not receive what we ask for because our motive is wrong. James 4:3 states, “You ask and yet you do not receive, because you ask for the wrong reasons, in order that you may squander what you receive in your pleasures.” For example: if one of us were to pray that the Lord would bless our work with a large income, he may refuse to answer that prayer because he knows what we really want is a lot of money to enjoy the pleasures of life. On the other hand, if we were to ask him to bless our work with a large income, he may grant that request because he knows we will use that money to pay for a sick person’s surgery or to finance a mission in a foreign country or use that money for some other great good. He may answer the one prayer but not answer the other, because the motives are different.
Or, our prayer may be denied because the Lord knows either it is not the time for us to have it, or he knows it is not good for us to have it. For example, would any of us give a ten year old boy a car to drive if he asked for it? Of course not! He is too young and not ready to drive a car; he is sure to hurt himself and likely to kill someone else. The Lord may deal with us in a similar fashion, as he sees where we are in our spiritual life and on our pathway to heaven. As an example, the Lord did not take away Paul’s thorn in the flesh, even though Paul prayed most earnestly three times that he would take it away. For the Lord knew that Paul would fall into the sin of pride and conceit if he took that thorn in the flesh away.
To state the matter simply, the Lord may deny our requests because he knows better than we do what is good for us at the time. His “No” is an answer to our prayer. In effect his answer is better for us than what we had asked for. Our problem is that sometimes we do not want to accept his “No” for an answer. Here is another reason he may not give us what we ask for: he may deny our prayer to teach us to be content with what he has given to us already. In any case, he does hear our every prayer of faith. He then answers it according to his will and what he knows is best for us. And sometimes his answer is “No”.
One more example: On occasion a congregation has prayed that the Lord would restore a seriously ill member to health, but the Christian died. Does that mean that the congregation’s prayer was not powerful and effective and was not answered? Not at all!! It means the Lord’s will was to give that Christian everlasting life in heaven, which was far better for him than a restored health here on earth. In faith we need to accept whatever is the Lord’s good and gracious will for us, even death if that is the case. And being with the Lord in heaven is far better than being here on earth.
Having heard the Lord does answer prayers, what kind of prayers can we bring to him? This text gives us some good examples. The examples in this text are covered in the Lord’s Prayer under the petitions, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Let us look first at the examples covered by the Fourth Petition “Give us this day our daily bread.” The fourth petition asks for all that we need in this world for our body and life.
James wrote in this text, “Is anyone among you suffering bad things? Let him pray!” Are you suffering bad things? If so, what? Are you suffering economic misfortunes? Are you out of work? Will you be laid off from your job? Are you suffering ill-treatment from others? Are you being mocked and persecuted for your Christian faith? Have you had your home or car stolen or damaged? Have you been hurt in an accident? Are you elderly and have fallen and been hurt? Whatever your misfortune may be, and whenever you are in need, pray about it, for your prayer is able to do much.
James also wrote, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the church, and let them pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.” The seriously ill are urged to call their pastors or elders. Olive oil was not used by the ancients as a last rite to prepare the sick for death; rather, it was rubbed on the body like alcohol or salve is used in our age to sooth the body. The important emphasis according to this verse was not the oiling of the sick but the praying for the life and soul of the sick. Thus we do not apply oil to the sick but we pray at the bedside of the sick. We go to the sick to attend to their spiritual needs and to pray for them. So if and when you are sick, pray. Your prayer is able to do much.
On the other hand, James wrote, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises!” When the Lord has poured out his blessings on us and we are happy and cheerful, then it is time to sing his praise. We may do that in songs and hymns, or we may do that in prayers as well. Either way, the giving of thanks is called for. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “ Keep giving thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
We are encouraged to give thanks in everything. But do we do that? Do our prayers always include a giving of thanks? Or are our prayers like mother’s shopping list that has no word of thanks at the end of it? Whatever happens during the day, we can thank the Lord for it. Maybe we are richly blessed. Maybe our day goes smoothly and well. Maybe we suffer misfortune. Maybe we are sick. Maybe we do not receive what we had prayed for. Whatever happens, we can thank God for it, for as a child of God in Christ Jesus we know that God always deals with us in a way that is for our good. For we know from his word in Romans 8:28 that he causes all things to work for our good – even misfortunes and sickness, as well as good times of happiness.
In answer to the question, then, “ What can we pray for since the Lord hears and answers our prayers?” you can pray for whatever you need for your body and life, as you do when you pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “ Give us this day our daily bread.” And above all make sure that you pray for your spiritual needs.
If you analyzed the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, you would learn that Jesus taught us to pray for six spiritual blessings and only one temporal blessing, namely our daily bread. That model prayer teaches us that our greatest concern should be for the Lord’s spiritual blessings. Accordingly, this text now directs our attention to the blessing of God’s forgiveness, which we ask for when we pray, “ Forgive us our trespasses.”
James wrote in this text, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the church, and let them pray for him . . . and the prayer offered in strong faith will restore the one who is sick to health, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven to him.” The sick were to call their pastors or elders to attend to their needs and to pray for them. Such prayers for the sick were offered to the Lord like all prayers are brought to the Lord, with the request that it be done if it is according to his will. If it were his will, would he restore the ailing Christian to health? And when it was the Lord’s will to do so, he did restore the ailing Christian to health and raised him up.
But even more important than the healing of the Christian’s body was the healing of his sin-sick soul. And in response to the prayers in behalf of the sick Christian the Lord forgave him whatever sins he had committed and of which he might be guilty.
Healthy or sick we all need a spiritual healing. For we all are sinners, as the Lord himself has said. Maybe we have blamed God for not answering our prayers. Maybe we have doubted his goodness in denying our prayers. Maybe we have fallen from faith and stopped praying like that woman did. If we have not sinned in any of those ways, we no doubt have sinned in a thousand other ways.
Whatever our sins have been, how reassuring to know that when we repent and believe in Jesus, the Lord says that if we have committed sins, they will be forgiven to us. Yes, the Lord is good: he has forgiven you and me of all our many sins against him.
But his forgiveness came at a great price. God is not an unjust judge who ignores sin without punishing the transgression. He demanded a price be paid for our sins, a price that none of us could ever pay. He demanded the death and punishment of one who was innocent in the place of us who were guilty. And then, to make it possible that such a high price could be paid, he sent his only son, Jesus. Jesus was perfect. He was born without sin and lived a sinless life as our substitute. He then paid the price for our sins – he gave his innocent life into death for us on the cross. In return for the priceless life and blood that Jesus gave as the payment for our sins, God declared all of our sins forgiven.
What salvation is now ours! What joy is now ours! What comfort is now ours! We have been healed of all our sins. We are now the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And as the children of God our prayers are able to do much. Therefore pray! Pray for your physical needs. Pray for your spiritual needs. For the Lord hears and answers us believers in Jesus.
Amen.
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