Bible Study on James 5:13-20
-
As shared by Rev. Don Schink, (C) 2005, 2008
“Dare
To Care and Share in Prayer and Service”
The Prayer of Faith
13Is any
one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of
praise. 14Is 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. 15And
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. 16Therefore 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.
17Elijah 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. 18Again
he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19My
brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring
him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of
his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Trouble? Happy? Sick?
Sin? Prayer – It is the true
source for the believer! Empty, broken
promises such as were often given in oaths, as mentioned in verse #12 are
meaningless in comparison to seeking the true source of power, reaching up to
heaven in prayers of faith! We have an
advocate in Christ Jesus our Lord! He
sits at the right hand of God the Father ever making intercession for us. James is a man of faith. He has a passion for prayer.
Simply put, whatever the concerns, cares, needs, or even deepest
indwelling need for deliverance from sin, we must dare to be men and woman of
prayer! Yes, we really do have an
advocate in Jesus Christ! So why
wait? Why hesitate? He’s on our side as we do so! We need to commune with Him as friends to
our best Friend, realizing that He eagerly waits to hear from us!
I love to hear from my son, Nathan. He’s a great guy. And I
certainly am more than willing to do whatever that I can for him. A few months before he and my now-precious
daughter-in-law, Bekkah were married, they called me and asked me if I’d like
to attempt to write their wedding song.
They didn’t want the traditional “Here comes the bride – See how she
waddles from side-to-side” song which prompted the idea for a new song. It was quite an honor and privilege and so I
prayed that the Lord would give me just what was needed for the occasion. I was amazed at His grace as the song
materialized within a few days. I
packed my guitar and flew from New Mexico back to West Virginia for the
wedding. I had the rare privilege of
being able to play and sing the song, “Today Is Your Day,” in the wedding for
them. I’m sure there have been much
better songs written and performed but I will always be grateful for this rare
opportunity. I was well aware of my own
limitations and so gladly give the credit to the Lord for His hand upon the
song and myself.
So, these verses, then, are a continuation of 5:12. They give the alternative to swearing of oaths, which is praying. Most commentators seem to miss the connection between verse #12 and verse #13. Mindless, empty oaths that so many take are worthless. The key to the true source of help are prayers of faith!
- Pray in times of trouble.
- Pray in times of happiness.
- Pray in times of sickness.
In other words, pray in all
kinds of circumstances. The habit of prayer should be, and indeed is, one of
the most obvious features that differentiate a Christian from other people.
James continues to instruct believers
in how to pray. His purpose is still to motivate them to pray. So now he
encourages prayer by his vision of how he expects prayer to operate in the
church. In fact, if any are sick, we
are admonished to call the elders of the church to pray, and the prayers of
faith will bring precious healing. It
is body-life in action!
Another important issue is to share
with one another, 16”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.” From a practical standpoint, when we
share with one another, it helps us recognize the important aspect of care,
counsel and accountability to one another within the body of Christ. We are told to confess our sins to one
another. As we know that we are
accountable to one another, it often inspires us to deal with whatever that we
may need to deal with regarding whatever particular issue is at hand in the
shared prayer request. It is in
confession and sharing that we receiver prayer support and even counseling, as
needed, to enable us to overcome troublesome situations. And as we share with fellow-believers, we
are assured that the prayers of the righteous are answered. As such, healing results, sometimes physical,
sometimes emotional, for example.
James went on to say, 17”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. 18Again
he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” Elijah was a God-fearing man with tremendous faith against a lot
of negative odds. There used to be a
financial commercial on television in which a voice would say, “When E. F.
Hutton speaks, people listen.” Well
that may have been true to an extent in financial circles; it was almost
nothing in comparison to Elijah!
When Elijah spoke, GOD listened! When Elijah spoke, God responded! When Elijah spoke, God answered! Why?
Simply put, God knew Elijah’s heart.
God knew that Elijah was totally consecrated to the Lord God! For example, we are reminded as to how
Elijah prayed that it would not rain for three and a half years. It didn’t.
Then at the end of that time, he prayed for rain, and it did indeed
rain! Elijah was able to accomplish
mighty acts of faith. Through it all,
he recognized God as his source of power and victory.
James closes with an admonition for
redemption, as he wrote, 19”My
brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him
back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his
way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Should a fellow-believer stray, do we care enough to share? If such a one is going off-track,
spiritually, do we hesitate to get involved?
Are we concerned about offending such a one by stepping in and showing
our concern? If I’m wrong, I certainly
want someone to say something. It seems
that people get used to situations by straying sometimes so very little, at
first. Such ones become accustomed to
what we refer to as ‘grey’ areas. Then it becomes easier to stray more and
more, a little at a time. After awhile,
if left unchecked, a person can be far away from where he or she once was, and
knew to be. And they can be wrong, -
dead wrong. And, as such, eternity is
too long to be wrong. As such, by
redeeming such a one, we prevent them from committing more sins, as well as
preventing them from going out into eternity apart from the saving and
sanctifying love and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord!
So as James wraps up his letter, he
stresses the importance of redemption.
The family who cares, shares and prays together, stays together. We, as a family of believers are bonded in
Christ, sealed for redemption by the Holy Spirit. So as we see one of our own family members straying into
dangerous activity of some type, we speak out and warn them. We say and do whatever is necessary to warn
and to prevent loved ones from making foolish decisions that can prove harmful,
even fatal. In the same way, we share
joint responsibility for one another in the body of Christ. So, James makes a final plea to be
redemptive to those within the fellowship of believers, as well as reaching out
to others who need to come to Christ.
So we are not only responsible to share the Word with others with whom
we come into contact with, in general, but we also need to be keenly aware of
one another’s needs within the body, loving, caring and prayerfully sharing
with each other.
Questions For Reflection and Direction:
1.
What do
we learn regarding the importance and power of prayer?
2.
How
important are the elders in this process?
3.
What
element in prayer brings positive results?
4.
What
guarantee do we have regarding physical healing?
5.
What
are we promised regarding the salvation of one’s soul?
6.
How do
we deal with the one caught up in sin?
7.
Why was
Elijah so effective?
8.
Can a
person stray away from the Lord?
9.
If so,
what can we do to bring him or her back to where such a one belongs?
10.
What is
the extent of prevention when we bring such a one back to a right relationship
with the Lord?
As we pray today:
1.
What
are the most important issues that speak to your heart from the word in today’s
study?
2.
How can
you apply these truths to empower yourself for more effective victorious living
and ministry outreach?
3.
What
can you do to make the best impact redemptively as you reach out to others,
both unsaved as well as fellow-believers?
Please note:
You are welcome to share this Bible study in your local churches, but I suggest that you personalize it. You do not have permission to publicize it or to make money from it in any form. May God richly bless you as you minister for Him with rich spiritual rewards of seeing many souls saved and sanctified for all eternity! Please let me know whatever helpful results you may get from this!
With Warm Sincerity in Jesus’ Love,
Rev. Don Schink, Pastor-Evangelist
Sonlight Ministries
Tijeras, NM
Pastor Don's Home Page
Pastor Don's Ministry & Evangelism Outreach Page