"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." James 5: 13 - 20
"Is any one of you in trouble? Is anyone happy? Is any one of you sick?" - Then he or she should pray - it's just that simple. Prayer should be a constant in our life everyday, no matter what we are currently experiencing.
I believe that James is comparing "sickness" to that of a "sinner". James is talking about a physical ailment when he talks about having the elders anoint with oil in the name of the Lord but the comparison to sin cannot be ignored. "If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." Sin is the sickness of our actions & there is a cure that works 100% of the time and lasts forever!! - Through the blood of Jesus Christ - by praying and confessing your sins - You "will be forgiven."
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful & effective" - "prayer offered in faith" - let's break these verses down:
Faithful prayers of a righteous believer brings powerful and effective results!
Remember, we have to keep in mind that these "results" - these answers are God's will and might not be in accord with what we originally thought could be the answer. In the example above where Elijah prayed that it would not rain & it didn't and then he prayed that it would rain and then it did - these are obvious answers to Elijah's prayers - but that will not always be the case. This might not mean that our prayers are not as "earnest" as Elijah's were - it might just mean that God has a different answer to our prayers than He did for Elijah's prayers.
Lastly, James talks about those people who "wander from the truth". When I read "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins" - two things came to my mind:
1. Our Christian walk - our living as an example must be selfless. We as Christians are already forgiven and have eternal life - We receive nothing in return when we witness through word or action and as a result a sinner is saved from death. That needs to be a selfless act because it is Jesus Christ who saves - we are just the vessel - giving God the glory.
2. The word "multitude" is barely ever used today. I had to look it up in the dictionary (thefreedictionary.com) Multitude - the condition or quality of being numerous, a very great number, the masses.
Wow! - that means that all of our sins are forgiven when we confess and believe that Jesus died for our sins. Multitude - every kind of sin forgiven, endless amount, the same sin forgiven again and again if the sin is repeated, old & new sins and always.
Faithful prayers of a righteous believer brings powerful and effective results!
Remember, we have to keep in mind that these "results" - these answers are God's will and might not be in accord with what we originally thought could be the answer. In the example above where Elijah prayed that it would not rain & it didn't and then he prayed that it would rain and then it did - these are obvious answers to Elijah's prayers - but that will not always be the case. This might not mean that our prayers are not as "earnest" as Elijah's were - it might just mean that God has a different answer to our prayers than He did for Elijah's prayers.
Lastly, James talks about those people who "wander from the truth". When I read "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins" - two things came to my mind:
1. Our Christian walk - our living as an example must be selfless. We as Christians are already forgiven and have eternal life - We receive nothing in return when we witness through word or action and as a result a sinner is saved from death. That needs to be a selfless act because it is Jesus Christ who saves - we are just the vessel - giving God the glory.
2. The word "multitude" is barely ever used today. I had to look it up in the dictionary (thefreedictionary.com) Multitude - the condition or quality of being numerous, a very great number, the masses.
Wow! - that means that all of our sins are forgiven when we confess and believe that Jesus died for our sins. Multitude - every kind of sin forgiven, endless amount, the same sin forgiven again and again if the sin is repeated, old & new sins and always.
To get powerful & effective results - offer your prayers in faith.
Recently on this blog we have been talking about Prayer:
"The Ultimate Spiritual Weapon - PRAYER" where we learned about the full armor of God (click HERE to view).
"By Prayer & Petition" where we learned how to pray (click HERE to view).
"Finding & Understanding God's answers to our prayers" where we learned different ways to look for God's answers (click HERE to view).
"Think It , Feel It, Pray It" where we learned about the Holy Spirit and prayer (click HERE to view)
"Prayer Warrior #1" true story accounts of "Prayer Proof" (click HERE to view) & remember, if you have a prayer story that you would like to share - go to the bottom of the "Prayer Warrior" post.
Thanks for sharing this. I think that so often we ask for things in prayer, but we aren't really believing that we will receive what we ask for. We all need the faith to know that God will answer our prayers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post and a great reminder. I pray daily but I wish I was more like Elijah, in that he was such a prayer warrior. I have always struggled with feelings of not praying enough. I know God answers prayers and wants us to go to Him with everything... I need to get better about controlling things and leaving it in God's hands. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for a wonderful reminder,
Sami