13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
James 5:13-18
Have you ever read a passage like this and felt . . . discouraged? I know I have.
I’ve had plenty of prayers that “weren’t answered.” Rather, they weren’t answered in the way I’d hoped or expected. People I love have battled physical ailments and injuries, even after I’ve prayed for their healing and safety. My prayers over my infertility have never resulted in a pregnancy, and I still deal with a lot of pain from endometriosis. Because of this, I’ve sometimes struggled with the sense that a lack of faith or some unknown sin stands in the way of my prayers.
Faith healing is a divisive concept within the Christian church. There’s a lot that could be said about it, but I’m not going to tackle that huge topic now. Today, I want to focus in on the last few verses of this passage, and the encouragement they offer to all believers because of the Gospel.
If, when you read this passage, you get to the part about “the prayer of a righteous person” and automatically feel hopeless, you are not alone. I know myself too well to suffer under the delusion that I could ever be considered “righteous” based on merit alone. This passage may not state it explicitly, but the full counsel of God’s Word reminds us that our righteousness is not something we’ve earned, but a gift we’ve been given. Therefore, we can pray with the assurance that our prayers are heard because God has granted us the righteousness of His Son. Those prayers they are powerful and effective, not based on our efforts alone, but because they are answered by our all-powerful Creator.
Perfect Righteousness for Prayer
In this passage, James admonishes his readers to pray faithfully, having confidence that God will hear and answer them. James assures them that their prayers for physical and spiritual healing will be answered when they are in right standing with God. Verses 15-16a remind the reader to be in the habit of confessing sin to God and one another to receive forgiveness and healing. Our sins can stand in the way of our prayers. In fact, the prayers of those who turn away from God’s Word are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 28:9); He not only doesn’t listen to them, but they even repulse Him. Confession is essential.
When we confess our sins, God faithfully forgives us and restores us to a right relationship with Him (1 John 1:9). God’s forgiveness is not shoddy patch job that merely hides the ugly reality of our sin. When we receive Christ, we are transformed (2 Corinthians 5:17), remade and given His spotless righteousness (Isaiah 1:18). As believers, we “put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). When we pray, God hears us as His sinless, righteous children and answers us accordingly. He responds to our prayers as our Father who desires to give good gifts to His beloved children (Matthew 7:11).
The Power Behind our Prayers
In James 5, verses 17 and 18, the prophet Elijah is given as an example for believers to follow in their prayers. Elijah was not perfectly sinless; he struggled at one point with deep doubt (1J Kings 19:4-5). James confirms that he had “a nature like ours”--that is, a sinful one. Yet, God answered his prayers mightily. By withholding rain from the land for years, the Lord answered Elijah's prayers and demonstrated his unsurpassable power to King Ahab and the idol-worshipping Israelites, who had been led astray to worship the false god, Baal.
The story of this miraculous drought is recounted in 1 Kings 17-18, and it culminates in an all-out spiritual battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah warned the people of Israel that they had to choose whether they would serve Baal or the Lord. He suggested a test to help the people decide whether they should listen to the prophets of Baal, or God’s prophet, Elijah:
“ . . . Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.”
1 Kings 18:23-24
The Israelites agreed to this test, trusting that the true deity would make Himself known by consuming the offering with fire from heaven.
The prophets of Baal went first. They prepared their offering and cried out to their false god. For most of the day, they pleaded for him to respond, but received no answer. They even went so far as to mutilate themselves with swords and lances to get Baal’s attention (v. 28), but “there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention” (v. 29).
Elijah was up next. He repaired God’s altar and prepared the offering. He even drenched the entire altar and the offering with water three times, just to be clear that the coming fire was from heaven, not a natural spark. Elijah prayed to the Lord, and God answered Him:
“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering 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 said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
1 Kings 18:36-39
Compared to the prayer of the prophets of Baal, Elijah’s prayer wasn’t showy or impressive. There was no shouting, dancing, or self-mutilation needed to catch God’s attention or convince Him to answer. Elijah came before the Lord as a humble, obedient servant, asking in faith that God would make Himself known to His people by answering his request. The fire from heaven consumed, not just the offering, but the entire altar. There was no question of God’s incomparable might and authority.
After God’s awesome display of power, the people of Israel destroyed the prophets of Baal and their idols. Finally, after years of drought, Elijah prayed to the Lord and rain returned to the parched lands. God heard Elijah and answered.
Even if your prayers have never resulted in a multi-year drought or fire from heaven, you can rest assured that your prayers are always heard and answered, just like Elijah’s were. The same God is waiting to hear and respond to your prayers according to His perfect will. The prayers of imperfect people are powerful because they are answered by an all-powerful God.
If you feel discouraged in your prayer life today, pray with me:
Father God, thank you for the gift of prayer. Thank you for sending your Son to die for us and make us your sinless, beloved children. Use your Word to fill us with wisdom, and give us a spirit of humility and conviction when we need to confess our sins. Use your Holy Spirit to align our prayers with your will and give us a greater desire for your presence in our lives. Your might is more than we can comprehend. Forgive us for so often thinking too little of your power, and forgetting to ask you for what we need. Use our prayers to glorify yourself and accomplish your purposes among us. Amen.
Respond
When you feel unworthy, how do you remind yourself of the righteousness you have in Christ? How does the knowledge of God's power impact your desire to pray?
