JEWELS FROM JAMES #13

HANDLE WITH PRAYER!

Tradition tells us that James the half-brother of Jesus, was a man of prayer. In fact, one first-century historian reported that James spent so much time in prayer, his knees became hard and calloused like a camel, and church history even remembers the author of this letter as "Camel Knees."  I do not know if James might have objected to the nickname of "Camel Knees", but I am sure he would not have been offended to being known as a man who practiced sincere, consistent and habitual prayer! Whether this is true or just tradition, it really doesn't matter. The main point I want us to see is that James taught us to cultivate a life of prayer, and to affirm that we as followers of Jesus HANDLE LIFE WITH PRAYER! Three things I want to briefly state here regarding prayer before we proceed with what James taught in closing out his letter:

1) To be prayerless is to be non-Christian. Followers of Jesus PRAY!

2) Prayer is to faith what oxygen is to the lungs.

3) Show me a person who does not pray, except on rare occasions (also known as "fox-hole prayers"), and I'll show you that same person to be spiritually dead.

James' letter gives a series of affirmations that genuine Christian Faith and the Life of Prayer are definitely linked together! For example, we saw the relationship between prayer and faith being affirmed by him back in Chapter 1 when he wrote, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ASK GOD (prayer), Who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ASK in faith, with no doubting . . . ." (James 1:5-8).

Now again in Chapter 5, James affirms the relationship between prayer and faith here in verses 13-18. This passage is a lightening rod of Biblical confusion and also theological controversy. Looking at this text without a hidden agenda but letting it speak for itself, it is clear that these words from James are about one primary thing . . . PRAYER! The words "PRAY" and "PRAYER" are used seven times in these 6 verses. The point of this emphasis is that prayer and faith are inextricably tied together. A profession of Christian faith is suspect if our prayer life is lacking. Genuine faith is fully demonstrated by a prayerful dependence upon God in every situation. HANDLE EVERYTHING WITH PRAYER! Someone may ask, "Why Pray?" Well, I'm glad you asked, because the answer is very simple: Because the Word of God commands it!

Since our study is in James, let us look at what he actually said. "Let him pray", "Let them pray", "Pray for one another", (James 5:13-18). James issued a divine call to personal prayer, and to intercessory prayer!

First, there is the CALL TO PERSONAL PRAYER! (verse 13) "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." This rhetorical question established the text's point upfront: Genuine faith is demonstrated by a direct prayer dependence upon God in every single circumstance. In other words, James means TRUST GOD WHEN THINGS ARE GOOD OR BAD. To suffer is to experience pain, endure affliction, undergo difficulty. It is the internal turmoil of one who faces difficult situations. James told his readers to take note of "the example of suffering and patience" of "the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord" (James 5:10). For instance, Micah suffered imprisonment, Isaiah suffered rejection, Jeremiah suffered severe opposition, Ezekiel suffered bereavement, Hosea suffered marital problems, etc. The "suffering prophets" remind us that godly people are not exempt from suffering. DO NOT ASSUME SUFFERING IS BECAUSE OF SIN! We have not received some kind of spiritual innoculation that prevents suffering. Christians may suffer physically, emotionally, financially, relationally or spiritually. James, who said to us "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of various kinds (James 1:2), also gave further counsel to Christians who suffer, "Let him pray" (verse 13). We must guard our hearts and actions when we suffer. Do not become anxious, bitter or discouraged. Do not complain, become negative or give up. Do not seek temporary solutions to ongoing problems, etc. Rather than succumbing to these things, PRAY! It is commanded. AND it is a verb in the present tense, meaning "continually keep on praying"! We are also to continually pray WHEN THINGS ARE GOOD! "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises." Have you ever tho't of our songs of praise as prayer? They are!

Second, James issues THE CALL TO INTERCESSORY PRAYER (verses 14-15). "Is any 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. This is the only place in all of Scripture where "the prayer of faith" is mentioned. It does not refer to the person who is sick! It is contrary to the Scripture to blame the person who is ill for not having faith The elders are called to pray the prayer of faith over the one who is in desperate need due to illness. The elders are to "stand in the gap" praying the intercessory prayer for the ill person. IT IS SAD THAT SOME BELIEVERS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ELDERS WHEN THEY ARE IN NEED OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE NOT IN RELATIONSHIP TO ANY ELDERS; THEY DO NOT ATTEND A LOCAL CHURCH. This robs us from having the ministry of elders when it is needed and it prevents elders from fulfilling God's plan for ministering to us.

This brings us to James' deep teaching on having THE RIGHT ATTITUDE ABOUT COMMUNITY. James deals with the great challenge for us to live "in community" with fellow believers (the church, the Body of Christ). He included truth about community relationships, church authority and prayer! James noted that anyone who is sick should confess any known sin and have the church elders pray over him for healing. This is not a hierarchy of spirituality, it is an attitude of humility for us to share our needs and our hearts with fellow Christians. James believes that the church elders are to be godly in heart, mind and conduct so that they are fully equipped to pray effectively! Church elders do not have the power to heal or to forgive sin, but their petition to God on behalf of others carries great significance in the kingdom of Christ. Church elders are not what is often termed "Faith Healers". Their ministry is to preach, teach and to pray. "Let the elders who lead well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. . . ." (First Timothy 5:17). "An elder must be . . .able to teach" (I Timothy 3:2).

As noted above, Elders are called upon to pray for those who are sick. "Sick" means "to be without strength." It can refer to weakness of any kind, but here in James, Chapter Five, it specifically refers to being physically weak or ill. As they pray for the sick, they are to "anoint them with oil." While anointing with oil could be symbolic or medicinal, I believe James meant it to be medicinal. The Gospel writer said of the disciples, "And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them" (Mark 6:13). In Jesus' Parable of The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:34 records, "He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine." In ancient times, oil was considered to be effective medication. I believe this is the reference made by James. Note this: THE HEALING WAS NOT IN THE OIL AND NOT IN THE PRAYERS, BUT BY THE SOVEREIGN POWER AND AUTHORITY OF GOD!

James brought his letter to a conclusion with his closing point being this: COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY MAKES US BETTER! James said, "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" (James 5:19-20). A better translation than the word "save", since you nor I can save anyone, is the word "rescue". Therefore, "whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will rescue his soul from eternal death." Never give up on one who has wandered! Coming back to God in repentance and faith covers a multitude of sins!

Last week I pointed out that the Epistle of James brings us much "spiritual meat" of God's Word. Here are four very important "pieces of steak" God desires us to know from James, Chapter Five:

1) What is Eternal is far more needful, beneficial, permanent and anticipated than the temporary!

2) Money and finances are NOT the currency of the Kingdom of God!

3) God is absolutely faithful in the midst of our trials and testings!

4) We are better together! WE ARE THE CHURCH!