Introduction: In 1897 an evangelist and teacher by the name of R.A. Torrey, an associate of D. L. Moody,  wrote a book called How To Obtain Fullness of Power. There are only five chapters in the book - The power of the Word of God, The power of the blood of Christ, The power of the Holy Spirit, The power of prayer, and The power of a surrendered life.  From near the beginning of his chapter of the power of prayer he writes:

                  

How much time does the average Christian spend daily in prayer? How much time do you spend daily in prayer? It was a master stroke of the Devil when he got the church and the ministry so generally to lay aside the mighty weapon of prayer. The Devil is perfectly willing that the church should multiply its organizations and its deftly-contrived machinery for the conquest of the world for Christ, if it will only give up praying. He laughs softly, as he looks at the church of today, and says under his breath: "You can have your Sunday Schools, and your Y.M.C.A.'s, and your Y.W.C.A.'s, and your Y.P.S.C.E.'s, and your B.Y.P.U.'s, and your Epworth Leagues, and your W.C.T.U.'s, and your Boys' Brigades, and your Institutional Churches, and your Men's Clubs, and your grand choirs, and your fine organs, and your brilliant preachers, and your revival efforts, even, if you do not bring into them the power of Almighty God, sought and obtained by earnest, persistent, believing, mighty prayer." The Devil is not afraid of machinery; he is only afraid of God, and machinery without prayer is machinery without God.

                

Though this quote is obviously dated by the various Christian organizations that he mentions - the point is still true today.  We can have Bible studies in our homes, ministries at church for children and adults, ect - but if prayer is left out then it is only work done in the flesh and not of God.        

 

As I have mention several times in our studies through this epistle of James, there is a long-standing church tradition that James was nicknamed "Camel Knees" because his knees had become hardened and callused through the amount of time he spent in prayer. It is beyond dispute that James considered prayer extremely important.  A number of times in the book we have come across James teaching us about prayer.

 

James 1:5,6 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

James 4:2,3 says, Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

 

This morning we will again examine the subject of prayer and a verse that is probably one of the more well-known verses in the book of James.  We will then examine briefly an illustration from the Old Testament that James provides his readers that substantiates what he says in verse 16. 

 

I. The Command For Genuine Prayer--James 5:16a

 

There are two parts of the command that James gives in the first part of verse 16. 

 

A. Confess your faults one to another

1. Was this really a necessary thing for James to write?  All we have to do to answer that question is recall the wrongs that James wrote about in this book.

Ÿ         James 1:13 - the problem of temptation

Ÿ         James 1:19,20 - the problem of anger and wrath

Ÿ         James 2:1-9 - the problem of respect of persons

Ÿ         James 2:15,16 - the problem of not meeting the needs of needy Christians

Ÿ         James 3:1-12 - the problem of an uncontrolled tongue

Ÿ         James 4:1,2 - the problem wars and fightings among the believers

Ÿ         James 4:11 - the problem of speaking evilly of one’s brother or sister in Christ

 

As you can see James had very good grounds for telling the readers of his epistle to confess their faults one to another - they had plenty of faults to confess and to forsake.

2. The particular Greek word that is used here by James and is translated “confess” is the stronger of two Greek words translated “confess” in the NT.  It means “to speak forth the same thing; to freely and openly assent to a truth.”  When we confess sin to God or to another it is saying that we agree with the accusation God has spoken concerning us or that another has brought against us.  This particular word implies doing this in a public setting.

 

3. The other key word in this first part of the command by James is the word “faults”.  We might be tempted to think we can translate it as “sins” but another word for “sin” is used by James in the previous verse.  This is not to say that the word “faults” is not also speaking of sins, for it is, but James has in mind those situations where one believer has offended another believer through their words or actions and the fellowship between them has been broken.

 

4. I think we ought to be careful about interpreting this command here by saying that Christians need to unburden every sin they ever commit upon their fellow believers in the public setting of the church.  There have been movements in the church that believed every sin needed to be told to other believers and it ultimately would led to an unhealthy exhibitionism, and it would lose it’s purpose altogether.

 

5. If every time we knew that we had offended another brother or sister in Christ and went to them to get the matter cleared up, much division among believers in a local church would disappear. 

 

Application: Is there something you have done or said to another believer that is yet unresolved?  The Word of God is telling you to get that matter resolved.  Is the Holy Spirit of God directing you to do something about it?  You had better listen to the Holy Spirit of God.

 

B. Pray one for another

1. The rest of this message will be dealing with the matter of prayer, but here we find James commanding the believers to pray for one another.

 

2. When believers are praying for one another on a regular basis it is only natural for them to want to resolve lingering issues between them.  How can you really intercede for another before the throne of grace if you harbor ill-well again that same Christian? 

 

3. It is also a very natural thing for true believers who have confessed a fault or sin they have committed against another brother or sister in Christ to also desire to pray together.

 

4. What is the result of confessing faults and praying with one another?  James says there is healing.  I believe James is mainly referring to the spiritual healing that will take place among brothers and sisters in Christ when this kind of confession and prayer is taking place.  There is an unexplainable sweet spirit that reigns among Christians who stay current in their confession of wrongs toward one another and who are praying with one another.  Where there used to be ill-feelings and wars, there is now peace and joy.

 

II. An Explanation of Genuine Prayer--James 5:16b

 

A. Real prayer is directed to God.

The word translated "prayer" in verse 16 is not the usual word in the New Testament for prayer, but a very specific word used for "a urgent, important requests." This word was used by ancient Greeks for requests made to ruling kings. Similar to Esther coming before the king with a pointed request. It is used only of petitions made to God in the New Testament and is often translated "supplication."

 

Based on this word - when was the last time you prayed?  When you poured out your need to God?

 

B. Real prayer is a cry of the heart.

"Effectual Fervent" translates a word which means "earnest or powerful" It carries the idea "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (Genesis 32:26). It is what could be called "striving in prayer" (Colossians 4:12). This wrestling with God is the difference between saying prayers and actually praying. It is not necessarily a lengthy or verbose prayer:

 

1. Peter cried out "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30).

2. The publican blurted "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

3. Jesus said, "When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." (Matthew 6:7).

 

Quote: "Cold prayers, like cold suitors, are seldom effective in their aims." Jim Elliot (missionary to Ecuador - martyred in 1956)

 

C. Real prayer comes from a righteous heart.

There are two sense to this term "righteous" -- a spiritual sense and a moral sense.

 

1. The Spiritual Sense - "There is none righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10), and "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:4)

 

2. The Moral Sense - "he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." (I John 3:7) The verse refers to a moral righteousness.

 

Real praying requires both: (Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:; Isaiah 59:1,2 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.; I John 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.). What makes a man morally righteous? By being spiritually righteous and then living righteously in this world.

 

A Christian in moral failure will have cold prayers.

 

D. Real prayer availeth much - it gets the job done.

This is the main aim behind the last two words of James 5:16 - “availeth much.” 

How many of you here really enjoy starting a project and then just quitting right in the middle of it?  Probably nobody here really likes to do that, though life sometimes forces us to do just that.  When we pray do we not desire for our prayers to be effective and accomplish much?  Of course we do - and James has just given us the formula for getting the job done - keep from sin by living righteously, and then pray in a way that shows you are coming by faith to God in this matter.

 

III. A Demonstration of Genuine Prayer--James 5:17-18

There are many examples that James could have chosen to illustrate what he was teaching here.  He could have chosen Moses who interceded with God for the people of Israel in Numbers 11:1,2.  He could have chosen the prophet Samuel who interceded for the children of Israel in 1 Samuel 12:16-25 and especially in 12:23 “God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you:”.  James could have chosen King Hezekiah who was a righteous man who prayed to God for deliverance from the Assyrian army in 2 Kings 19:14-19. 

 

So we ask - why did James settle on Elijah?  For one, that is who the Holy Spirit of God laid on his heart to use as an illustration, but also, Elijah held a unique position among the characters of the Old Testament in Jewish thinking.  If I could put it this way - He was like a George Washington or Abraham Lincoln to us today - bigger than life.  Elijah had never experienced death.  It was Elijah and Moses that stood with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Elijah was a pretty special character in the records of the Old Testament.

 

Yet despite all this:

 

A. Elijah was like us - "a man subject to like passions as we are," 

Paul uses this same word Acts 14:15 when the people of Lystra thought Paul and Barnabas were gods after God healed a handicapped man - We also are men of like passions with you, (Acts 14:15).  The word translated “passions” is a Greek word that literally means “to suffer the same things.”  Though Elijah was a man that God used to do some very amazing things; though Elijah is used as a prototype of the prophet who would prepare the way for Messiah; he never experienced death - he was also a man - a man that had his ups and downs in life.  Probably the most well-known one is the Mount Carmel experience where God answered his simple prayer and sent fire down from heaven to consume the sacrifice, the wood, and the water.  Then after this “mountain top” experience, Elijah falls into deep depression and runs for his life from the wicked queen Jezebel.  It was after this that God came to Elijah and cared for him, but also told him to seek out Elisha as a replacement.

 

B. Yet Elijah prayed with power - "he prayed earnestly."

Neither prayer, either at the beginning of the drought or at the end of the drought, is mentioned in the Old Testament. However, God's word which came to Elijah is mentioned (I Kings 17:1; I Kings 18:1). GOD WORKS THROUGH PRAYER. It is the means of grace by which He moves. Elijah was able to pray fervently and earnestly because He knew "the mind of God." Elijah knew the will of God and God worked through his prayers. 

Does God still operate that way today?  Does God still answer prayers?  If He doesn’t then everything we have studied today is wrong;  everything that James said about prayer is wrong; everything the Word of God says about prayer is wrong.

Ÿ         God wants us to pray for those who are yet lost in their sins and to speak to them about their need of Christ.

Ÿ         God wants us to pray for the physical and spiritual needs of one another and then to put feet to our prayers by helping them if we are able to.

Ÿ         God wants us to pray for those in leadership over us - in human government and in the local church

 

Conclusion: There is God-given power in prayer - the fervent prayer of a righteous man or woman of God.  Are we utilizing that power of prayer or are we wasting it?  Sometimes we think that it is a total waste of time to pray.  Consider the following illustration:

 

Illustration: Charles Francis Adams, a 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: “Went fishing with my son today—a day wasted.” His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: “Went fishing with my father—the most wonderful day of my life!” The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but his son saw it as an investment of time.

 

We may often be like the father, Charles Adams, in the illustration - thinking that prayer is a waste of time.  Others may be like the son, Brook Adams, and find in prayer what God wants us to find in it - power.