James and chapter 5 from verse
12 James writes, But above all things, my brethren, swear not,
neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other
oath, but let your yea be yea, and your nay nay, lest ye fall
into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? Let
him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
Is any sick among you? 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 shall
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have
committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults
one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like
passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and
six months. And he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren,
if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him, let
him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of
his way shall save a soul from death. and shall hide a multitude
of sins. And the prayer of faith shall
save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed
sins they shall be forgiven him. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much. There are many who pray And so they say, there are many
in the world who brought to the right circumstances, brought
into trouble, into trial, who will speak of praying. They will
turn to their gods and pray. They will turn to their God and
pray, whoever that may be, but their prayers are ineffectual
if they're not the prayer of faith. Yes, ungodly men pray, but they pray to the wind, they
pray to dead idols, they pray in their head to be delivered
from trouble to gods that they do not know, that they do not
truly worship, that they do not truly love, and who answer them
not. There are many, including you
and I at one point, who have no time for God, No time for
Jesus Christ. No time for the gospel. And yet
when life circumstances come upon us that we're brought into
some sort of trial or emergency, if a loved one becomes sick,
if a loved one is near death, or if some sort of huge trial
comes upon us, a loss of a job, a loss of circumstances, where
our back is against the wall, suddenly we may turn to prayer. Suddenly this God whom we have
no time for, becomes perhaps more important. Suddenly we will
call out, if there's a God, help me, deliver me, save my child. Answer my prayers in this circumstance. But how vain the prayers are. We pray to a God who in normal
circumstances we have no time for. We have a vain hope that there's
someone out there who may come to our aid, but who we'd never
call upon in better days. Also the prayers of the ungodly,
you and I by nature, are self-centred. We rarely pray for others. We'd
rarely be moved in circumstance by the afflictions of others.
Our thoughts are largely centered on ourselves and those that concern
us. We'll pray for ourself in trouble,
we'll pray for our loved ones in trouble, but others we have
no care for. Prayer of the ungodly is a selfish
prayer, a self-centered prayer. Prosper me. Help me. Many pray to their gods, or their
idea of who God is, when in trouble. But without faith, they know
not God. And as Hebrews tells us, without
faith it is impossible to please God. Without faith it's impossible
to know God. Without faith our prayers are
but words. Vain repetition, spoken to the
wind, unanswered, unheard. Here in chapter five, James refers
to the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. He refers
to the prayer of faith. And he refers to the example
of Elias, Elijah. who at one time prayed that it
should not rain and it rained not for three and a half years
and then he prayed again that it should rain and the Lord sent
great rain. This man prayed and the elements
obeyed. He prayed to his God that it
should not rain and the Lord kept rain back. He prayed that
it should rain and the Lord sent rain. Who has the power, the
command, whose God hears such prayers? 1 Kings 17 we read Elijah the Tishbite
who was of the inhabitants of Gilead said under Ahab as the
Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand there shall not
be dew nor rain these years but according to my word and so it
was. And then towards the end of 1
Kings 18 we hear him pray the Lord to send rain. In 1 Kings
18 verse 1 we read, And it came to pass, after many days, that
the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying,
Go, show thyself unto Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. In verse 41, Elijah said unto
Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance
of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to
drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he cast
himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his
knees, and said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and
said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh
time that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of
the sea like a man's hand. and he said go up say unto Ahab
prepare thy chariot and get thee down that the rain stop thee
not and it came to pass in the meanwhile that the heaven was
black with clouds and wind and there was a great rain and Ahab
rode and went to Jezreel and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah
and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance
of Jezreel. This man prayed that it should
not rain and the Lord kept the rain back. He prayed and the
Lord sent rain. What a difference in the prayers
of Elijah from the prayers of the ungodly. And the difference
is illustrated in that which is seen between these two events. Earlier in 1 Kings 18, We read
of the events on Mount Carmel. Verse 17 we read, And it came
to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art
thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled
Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken
the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel under Mount
Carmel and the prophets of Baal 450 and the prophets of the groves
400 which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children
of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel. And
Elijah came unto all the people and said, How long shall ye halt
between two opinions? How long halt ye between two
opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not
a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain
a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are 450 men. Let them therefore give us two
bullocks. and let them choose one bullock
for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on wood and
put no fire under. And I will dress the other bullock
and lay it on wood and put no fire under. And call ye on the
name of your gods and I will call on the name of the Lord.
And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.' And all
the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah
said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose ye one bullock for yourselves,
and dress it first, for ye are many. And call on the name of
your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which
was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of
Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any
that answered. and they leaped upon the altar
which was made. And it came to pass at noon that
Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is talking, or he is
pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and
must be awaked. And they cried aloud and cut
themselves after their manor with knives and lancets till
their blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass where midday
was passed. And they prophesied until the
time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that there was neither
voice nor any to answer nor any that regarded. And Elijah said
unto all the people, come near unto me. And all the people came
near unto him. And he repaired the altar of
the Lord that was broken down. Elijah came unto all the people
and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be
God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him.
And the people answered him not a word. He alone was the prophet
of the Lord. There were 450 prophets of Baal.
450 prophets who called out unto
their God from morning until night. And their God Baal answered them,
not a word. To whom are you praying? To whom
are you looking in your life's journey? when trouble comes your
way when circumstances are placed outside of your control and your
strength to do something about them in a good day you tackle
your troubles your own way you're strong you make your own decisions
you take your own actions but there are those days where events
come upon you that you can do nothing about They're bigger
than you. When a storm comes outside, you
can't resist it. When you're on the sea and a
storm tosses the ship about that you could sink, there's nothing
you can do. When sickness comes your way,
you cannot prevent it. When calamity strikes, fear comes
upon you and whom do you call? Do you cry out like these prophets
of Baal? 450 of them. Do you cry out unto
a God who cannot answer? Do you cry in a vain hope? Do
you pray ineffectual prayers? Oh, you may be in a multitude.
You may be amongst the majority. Here's this one prophet Elijah,
speaking of the Lord God. Here's this one preacher preaching
the gospel and pointing sinners unto Christ, whilst the world
in a multitude mocks and laughs and goes its own way and bows
down to Baal with its 450 prophets. You may go with the crowd and
the popular opinion. You may have numbers on your
side. All the scientists, all the wise
men, all the learned may back you up. But when it comes to
calling upon your God, there's no answer. For all the multitude For all
the prophets, for all the second opinions, there's nothing there. And your prayers are vain, and
your cries are unheard. And the prophet Elijah comes
unto you and says unto you, how long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him,
but if Baal Follow Him. Without faith, prayer is but
vain words. The prayers of saved men, however,
the prayers of those whom God has met and delivered from darkness,
delivered from sin, delivered from themselves, delivered from
the blindness and delusion of this world, the wisdom of this
world, the religion of this world, delivered from following Baal,
the prayers of those who've come to know the Gospel, who've been
brought to Jesus Christ, the prayers of those who are washed
in the blood of a Saviour, who loved them and gave himself for
them. The prayers of the righteous
are prayers that are heard. They are prayers of faith. And they are prayers which are
very different in character so often from the prayers of the
world. The world prays for selfish gain continually. God's people
are brought by the Spirit of God to pray for the glory of
God, the fervorance of the gospel, the good of his people. They
pray for one another. They pray for the sick and the
desperate and the lowly. And as led by God to pray, their
prayers are heard. James gives examples in the chapter
we read. Is any among you afflicted? Let
him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
Is any sick among you? 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 shall
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he have
committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults
one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Exhorts the prayer one for another. And the real healing of which
James is pointing there is not simply the healing of temporal
sickness that may come upon us, but the real healing And the
real prayer that's answered for the healing of one another is
the healing of the soul, the forgiveness of sins, the salvation
of sinners. The prayer of faith shall save
the sick and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he have committed
sins, they shall be forgiven him. This is what real prayer
brings. It takes the lost blind sinner
and causes him to see. It takes the deaf man and causes
him to hear. It takes the lame and causes
him to walk. It calls out unto the dead and
he comes forth alive. When Christ, the just man, came
in this world and preached the gospel of the kingdom. He went
about touching the eyes of the blind and the blind saw. Touching the ears of the deaf
and the deaf heard. Touching the lame and the lame
walked. Calling out unto Lazarus, Lazarus
come forth and dead Lazarus who'd laid in the grave for four days
came forth. with newness of life. If Christ
prays for you, if the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man prays for a dead man, that dead man lives. Should Christ
look upon you in the darkness of your sin, in the deadness
of your sin, in the blindness of your sin, if Christ should
look upon you and pray unto the Father for you, then you will
hear, you will see, you will stand up and walk, and you will
live with eternal everlasting life. and a righteousness which
is of God. The prayer of faith shall save
the sick. In 1 Kings 17 and 18, we saw
the prayers of Elijah. We saw them contrasted with those
450 prophets who cried out under Baal and there was nothing. There was neither voice, nor
any to answer, nor any that regarded. Nothing. Are you praying? Are you calling? Are you trusting in that which
cannot help you? You may say, oh, I've never really
prayed unto a God. I don't believe in gods. I don't
believe in any God. I don't believe in the supernatural.
It's all nonsense. So what are you trusting in? You trust in yourself. You trust
in your own wisdom and your own knowledge and your own ability. You trust in your own works and
your own self-righteousness. You trust in the wisdom and the
knowledge and the ability and the works of others. A multitude
come unto you and say, this is the way. This is our consensus. This is our wisdom. And you hear
them. and you follow them. They may
come under different names, they may not speak of Baal, and they
may not call themselves prophets, but they're just the same. They
may call themselves scientists, engineers, intellects, great
leaders, great thinkers, and you may bow down to their wisdom.
and their message and say that's the way I'll follow and in them
you put your trust and in that wisdom you put your trust and
when trouble comes and you cry out and you look to that wisdom
and that knowledge that understanding to help and you cry out in the
midst of trouble you discover there's neither voice nor any
to answer, nor any that regard it. It's darkness, it's death,
it's dead, it's silent. How long halt ye between two
opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him,
but if these, then follow them. But after the silence of Baal,
Elijah said unto all the people, come near unto me. And all the
people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of
the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones
according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob,
under whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be
thy name. And with the stones he built
an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the
altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he
put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid
him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and
pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said,
Do it the second time. And they did it the second time.
And he said do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
And the water ran about the altar. And he filled the trench also
with water. And it came to pass at the time
of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet
came near. and said, Lord God of Abraham,
Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art
God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have
done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me,
that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that
thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of
the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood,
and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that
was in the trench. And when all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces, and they said, The Lord, He is the
God. The Lord, He is the God. Oh, what a deference. when Elijah
prayed unto this true and living God. Though drenched in water,
the sacrifice was consumed utterly by the fires of God that came
down when Elijah prayed. What a difference there are between
the prayers of faith and the vain prayers of dead men in the
flesh. The prayers of men are of little
worth. There's no good in the flesh.
There's no good in man. There's no wisdom in man. But
those in Christ who pray as led by the Spirit are heard as they
are in Christ. They pray in faith. They look
unto Christ to do according to his will, not theirs. Christ intercedes for them. He
hears them, he takes their prayer unto the Father and the Father
hears for Christ's sake. And the Father answers. He's
the one who prays. He is the righteous man. who prays on his people's behalf. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much. He is this man. When we pray
by faith, it's Christ who hears and prays for us. If we pray
in the Spirit as led by God, if our prayers are those that
God gave us to pray, He's the one who takes them to the Father
and answers. Wherefore He is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Christ lives and reigns
on behalf of His people. He takes their prayers unto the
Father. He can take the sinner who's sunk in sin, miles
away, in the darkness, blind to the truth, hard-hearted. And when he comes unto him in
the gospel and puts faith in the heart to call out unto him,
help me Lord, have mercy upon me, he can save to the uttermost. This faith that God gives unto
his children looks unto Christ. And He looks to the Father and
takes our prayers unto Him. It's His faith He gives His children. It's His faith in which we pray. It's His faith which comes unto
the Father. It's His faith that saves the
sick. The prayer of faith shall save
the sick and the Lord shall raise Him up. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much. How different are the prayers
of those who are in Christ from the prayers of the world and
the world's religion. All things whatsoever ye shall
ask in prayer, believe in, ye shall receive, Christ says. But I say unto you, love your
enemies, bless them that curse you and do good to them that
hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute
you. Pray for others. Matthew chapter 6 Christ says
and when thou prayest thou shall not be as the hypocrites are
for they Love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily
I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet. When thou hast shut thy door,
pray to the Father which is in secret, and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray,
use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that
they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore
like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need
of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray
ye, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for Thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. That's how different are the
prayers of faith. and the prayers of men in the
flesh. But why are they different? They're
different because of Christ. They're different because it's
his faith that he gives unto his children. It's his faith
that causes them to pray. It's He that takes our prayers
unto the Father. It's He that lays prayer upon
our hearts. It's He that causes His people
to pray one for another and for the glory of God and the fervorance
of the Gospel. And it's He who has the power
to bring that prayer unto an almighty God, unto His Father
who is able to hear and able to answer and able to save to
the uttermost. This God unto whom our prayers
are brought is the God that sent down that fire upon the sacrifice
at Carmel. When all the prayers of the multitude
to their God's unto bow brought forth nothing but silence. The prayers of God's people,
the prayers of faith, the prayers of Christ bring down salvation. Who are you looking to? Who are
you praying to? Who's praying for you? Has Christ
looked upon you in mercy and in grace? Has he come unto you
in his gospel? Has he looked upon you in the
darkness and the captivity of your sin? and prayed for you
that you should be delivered. His prayers are what all this
chapter of James is pointing us to. When James refers to Elias,
who prayed that it should not rain and then prayed that it
should rain, when he points us to Elias, Elijah at Carmel, when
he points to the prayers, the effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man, he's pointing us and leading us unto Christ.
If you have faith, it's under him you look, and it's because
he prays, it's because he prayed for you, it's because he prayed
for his people that their prayers are answered. Oh his prayers
that we see in the scriptures, oh how Christ prayed, how he
walked before his father, how he communed with his father,
how his life was a life of faith, a life of communion with God,
a life of prayer. Matthew 14 we read, And when
He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart
to pray. And when the evening was come,
He was there alone. He went before His God, and He
sought the Father's will. He prayed. In John 17 we read
of Christ's prayer for His people, His fervent prayer for them in
this world. And now, O Father, glorify me
with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given
me are of thee. For I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and
have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have
believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them. I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am
glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world,
but these are in the world. And I come to thee. Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that
they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition,
that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now I come to thee. these
things i speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves i have given them thy word and the world have hated
them because they are not of the world even as i am not of
the world i pray not that thou should take them out of the world
but that thou should keep them from the evil They are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through
thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast
sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into
the world. And for their sakes, I sanctify
myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through thy word, that they all may be one, as
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may
be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me. and the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and thou in me that
they may be perfect in one and that the world may know that
thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me
before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the
world have not known thee, But I have known thee, and these
have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto
them thy name, and will declare it, that thy love, wherewith
thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them. Oh, what
a prayer for his people. Did he pray it for you? Has he
prayed it for you? Have you heard him? How often
he prayed. for the good of his people. When
he was delivered to be crucified, when he knew
that his owl was coming upon him, before Judas came upon him
in the Garden of Gethsemane with the chief priests and the
scribes to capture him and to betray him, He was there in Gethsemane
praying for the good and the salvation of his people. He knew what he would face. He
knew what was coming upon him. He knew the cup he must drink,
the turmoil he went through. You see in his prayers the contrast
between that which would be praying for himself and that which is
praying for the glory of God and the good of his people. In
himself, as a man, he'd rather be spared that which he must
suffer. But he prayed that God's will would be done. Then cometh
Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith
unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And
he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began
to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here, and
watch with me. And he went a little further,
and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be
possible, let this cut pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples,
and findeth them asleep. And saith unto Peter, What, could
ye not watch with me one hour? Watch, and pray that ye enter
not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second
time, and prayed, saying, O my father, if this cup may not pass
away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he
came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And
he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying
the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples,
and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold,
the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners. He knew what was coming upon
him. He knew what he must endure upon the cross as the sins of
his people would be laid upon him, as he was made sin, as the
wrath of God was poured out upon him, as he must drink that cup
of God's wrath against all the sins of all his people for at
all time. He knew he must be slain. he knew he must die, he knew
he must suffer the eternal judgment of God against those sins, against
that unbelief of men, against that hatred of men. against those
wicked prayers of men, against that which causes us all to go
off and to seek and follow Baal and our own wisdom and our own
understanding and our own works and our own righteousness and
fall down at its altar. He had to bear the judgment of
his people's sins. If that was you and you're his then He bore your
unbelief, your betrayal, your denial of Him. He bore your worship
of Baal and your hateful worthless prayers to Baal. He bore your
wicked unbelief and following the wisdom of men and the righteousness
of men. He suffered in your place. And what a cup it was to drink. when forsaken of all men, and
judged of God the Father, alone hanging upon the cross, he cried
out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And yet he drank that cup, for
his prayer was thy will be done. he did it because he loved his
people and he prayed for his people that none of them should
be lost that none of them should be left to themselves that none
of them should be left in the darkness He prayed unto his father
that all that the father had given him should hear, should
be saved, that all that the father had given him should have their
sins washed away. He prayed unto the father, lay
their sins upon me, lay their guilt upon me, I will pay the
price that they might live. Did He look upon you? And pray
unto the Father, take their sins and lay them upon me that they
should live, that they should no longer follow
Baal and their false gods, but that they should know me and
know thee and be one with us, that they should have life everlasting. As He hung upon the cross, did
He look out upon you and cry out, Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do. Did He say unto you as He said
to that thief on his one side, today you will be with me in
paradise. As we stood there, nailing him
to the cross with our unbelief, our hatred, and our rejection. As we derided him, as we mocked
him, as we looked on in unbelief, as we denied him like Peter denied
him three times, as we stood there afar off, did he look across
at us and say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do. Did he pray for you, for me? Lord, save them. Lord, save them. The prayer of faith shall save
the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man, availeth much. Did Christ pray for you
and I? Will we live? Do we live? In Jesus Christ alone. O may
he have grace, may he have mercy upon us, that though we have
hated and rejected him, Though we closed our eyes and closed
our ears, nevertheless, He took our sin, He bore it away, and
He prayed unto His Father, Forgive them, they know not what they
do. Amen.