Sermon - James on Prayer - Littleby Baptist Church - December 27, 2020

Prayer is one of those things I like to take time each year for us to look at. The Book of James may be short but it does tell us a lot about prayer.

“⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” - James 1:5-6

“² You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” - James 4:2-3

“¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” - James 4:10

“⁴ Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.” - James 5:4

“¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.” – James 5:13

Praying to the One True God is a privilege, that is given to us as a child of God. We get to talk to our God freely, as He wants to hear our concerns, needs, and desires.

There are times in all of our lives that stuff happens, that can drive us to complain about what is going on. Sometimes that leads to blaming God for the bad stuff. Hopefully everyone here knows that the bad stuff that happens is due to us living in a fallen world, not because our God is trying to punish us.

Instead of blaming God or dwelling on the bad stuff, we need to be lifting our concerns to our God. We should be seeking our Lord’s wisdom so that we can navigate through the trials we are facing, avoid the negativity, and not play that blame game. As we depend on our God, His wisdom will help us navigate through the suffering we are enduring. In turn our blaming and complaining will turn to Praise as we glorify our God for all He does.

God can deliver us from any situation, addiction, or nightmare we are facing. If it is God's will our situation can be changed in a heartbeat. Even if we do not receive that miraculous deliverance we seek, we need to remember that prayer can give us the grace we need as we walk the path before us.

“⁷ especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. ⁸ Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. ¹⁰ So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Paul prayed that God would take away his thorn. Instead of granting the request, God gave him the grace he needed to turn his weakness into a strength. Sometimes God’s answer to our prayers is not what we desire, but it is what we need.

Jesus prayed in Gethsemane.

“³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”” - Matthew 26:39

Jesus’ prayer was heard, but instead of taking the cup from Him the Father gave Jesus the strength He needed to die on that cross.

The second half of James 5:13 reminds us that life is not always full of suffering. We do not face troubles every day of our lives. When we are happy, we need to be singing praises! The trick is learning to praise God during the good and the bad, when you are up and when you are down. When you are winning and when you are losing.

“¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” - James 5:14-16a

Some have read this as a recipe for healing the sick and eliminating the need for doctors. The work translated as sick, is also translated as weak. While this could be pointing to a physical illness it is more likely to be pointing to someone who has a weak faith. They have succumbed to something that is preventing them from being part of the local church, they have been caught living in sin, they have fallen so low they cannot recover on their own. They Need Help!

James makes a couple of points in these verses. A person living in sin needs to fully repent. They need to take the initiative and seek out those who can help them and then confess what they have done. When James is saying they should be anointed with oil, he is saying that those who can help should help. Help the person clean up, help them restore what they lost, and help them stand until they can stand on their own.

When someone hits rock bottom, they are going to need help picking up the pieces. That is what James is talking about when he says, 'anoint them with oil'. When someone is trying to pick up the pieces, we need to help them get back on their feet so they can feel human again.

Through repentance and prayer their sins will be forgiven and they will be restored to their rightful place as a child of God.

James tells us to confess our sins. First to God so that we may be forgiven and then to those who we have hurt. If we hurt a brother or sister, we need to confess it before God, ask His forgiveness, then go to the person we hurt and ask their forgiveness.

When someone has hurt us, it is a normal human reaction for us to become angry with them. What is the best way to get over that anger and hurt? It is not always easy, but we need to pray for them. Pray for their restoration. Pray for God to bless them. It will be hard to do, but we are to forgive those who have hurt us and pray for those in need.

“The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.” - James 5:16b-18

In 1 Kings we find that the wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had led the nation of Israel away from the Lord and into worshiping Baal. When God was finally fed up, He sent Elijah.

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” - 1 Kings 17:1

Elijah prayed and there was no rain for three and a half years. Then he challenged the priest of Baal to a dual. The priests of the wannabe god spent all day trying to get Baal to respond and nothing happened. As evening approached Elijah prepared the alter and sacrifice. A simple prayer to the One True God and the sacrifice was consumed by fire from heaven.

Then Elijah fell to his knees and prayed for God to bring rain to Israel. He prayed and prayed sending his servant seven times to check for rain until it finally came.

'The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.'

Elijah’s prayers were very powerful indeed.

Now you might be thinking, ‘of course the prayers of a prophet would be answered, but I am not a prophet.’ The Bible shows us that Elijah was just like us. He was not perfect, he was afraid, he became discouraged, and he ran away. Even with what we may see as failures, especially looking at our own lives, and scripture still says he is a 'righteous' man. Elijah was obedient to and trusted in His God. He prayed and trusted that God would answer his prayers. Elijah ran from God and God still listened to his prayers. Knowing this should help us know that Our God will listen to us when we pray. Even as we faulter and sin, God will still listen to us.

Sometimes when we are praying for something and after some time, we do not see God answering, we stop. Elijah was persistent in his prayers. He prayed over and over again until it started raining. When we are praying for something, we need to keep praying until we see God at work.

It is not a matter of rambling, we do not need to pray louder, or even double the time we spend praying. What we need to do is believe. Believe that God wants to hear from us. Believe that God wants to answer our prayers. Believe that He will answer our prayers and then keep praying. I know people who have prayed for their children or grandchildren to come to Jesus, for years. I believe it is because of their consistent prayers that the Holy Spirit finally breaks through some of those hard heads and hearts. Never stop praying!

When we pray, we need to pray from our hearts? It is not about repeating phrases or certain words. It is not about going through the motions in hopes that someone might be listening. We need to cry out to our God. We need to ask our Lord for what is on our hearts. We need to pray specifically for what we are seeking God’s touch on. We need to ask for His will to be done.

Our God wants to hear from us. He wants to hear what is on our hearts. He wants us to be real with Him. He wants to know what is breaking our hearts. Our King is not some unapproachable person, He is our Savior who died so that He could be with us.

Elijah prayed for his nation and God answered that prayer. If we get on our knees and pray for our nation, God will hear our prayers. If we pray and pray and pray some more, we will see Him work in our lives and the lives of those around us. The results may not be what we want, but God will work in us and around us.

“Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” - Ephesians 6:18

Prayer is a privilege God has given His children, which tells us that our God wants to hear from us. Just like earthly Fathers want to hear about how their child’s day at school was, our Heavenly Father wants to hear the good and bad about your day.

Believe that your God wants to hear from you, believe that He will answer your prayers, with all of your hearts, and never stop going to God with what is on your heart.

God Bless,

Robert