Like Elijah

April 8

James 5:13-18

Like Elijah

“The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (v.16)

In James 5, prayer is the answer to suffering and sickness. It is what the scriptures call us to:

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” (v.13)

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him…” (v.14)

The hard part is, determining what happens when we pray. When we read this, we may be tempted to think that it means that the suffering just stops… or the sickness just goes away. Sometimes it DOES. But other times… not so much. There are times when it doesn’t immediately stop. This can be frustrating or confusing in the least. How do we pray in these moments and how do we respond when things don’t unfold the way that we expect them to? Here are a few things for us to remember:

1.) Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue.

When we pray we are speaking with God. We are talking with him, not “at” him. In our suffering and our sickness, we turn to the Lord in conversation as he speaks words of truth and hope to us as his children.

2.) Prayer is not pagan magic

Our prayers are not “magical spells” or “incantations” that we recite to make something happen in this world. Don’t get me wrong- prayer is POWERFUL, but this is because of the powerful one we pray to and are talking with. The pagans use magic spells… the Christian has prayer and conversation with the creator God.

3.) “The Prayer of Faith” is a type of prayer (v.15)

In verse 15, we see a reference to “the prayer of faith”, it is worth asking what exactly that is. We are given Elijah as our case study. (v.17) In particular, we are given Elijah and his prayers around rain. What we find out if we go back to read those accounts is that God had told Elijah ahead of time what he was already going to do and what Elijah was to pray for. In short, the prayer of faith is praying what God tells you ahead of time to pray! When we pray for the sick as gathered elders and anoint them with oil - we seek the Lord and pray what he tells us to pray… this is Elijah’s modeled “prayer of faith”.

4.) Prayer, “Healing”, Confession, and Forgiveness of Sins are all connected/mingled together.

In this passage, we see these themes all linked together. This paints a picture of something broader than a purely “physical” manner of healing. It is interesting that the word “save” is used here as opposed to “healed”. (v.15)  We realize that there is work happening in both the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm… and sometimes BOTH. If physical healing is not what we experience or see, it may be that spiritual healing is actually what is taking place! The same is true for the phrase “the Lord will raise him up.” (v.15) This word “raise” has so many meanings and connotations: "to arouse, to arouse from sleep, to arouse from death, to raise up, produce, cause to appear.” (Biblical usage) What can cause us great frustration is when the “saving” and “raising” don’t look they way that we expect - we presume they are not happening. This is not a “cop-out” concerning physical miraculous healing, but rather a nuance of the passage. I very much know and believe that God miraculously heals today. I also know that HOW he heals and remedies our suffering and illness has a very BROAD scope… he doesn’t always do it the ways we expect him to / want him to.

5.) “The prayer of a righteous person…”

In Christ, we have been made RIGHTEOUS. Therefore, we need not cringe at this verse nor think it does not apply to us. Do not let your insecurity or the lies of the enemy drive you away from prayer. You are a righteous person if you are in Christ, and prayer does indeed WORK.

6.) “…has great power as it is working.”

The effects of our prayers and conversations with God work out over time. Notice, “as it is working”. Sometimes this process happens quickly - in a moment. Other times it happens over the years. Sometimes your prayers are the final prayers in a long line … other times they are the first. Similar to evangelism, sometimes you are planting seeds, and other times you get to be the one who harvests. Do not let the timing of your prayers being “worked out” discourage you!

May we be a praying people. May the words of God encourage us and lead us into deeper and more meaningful patterns of prayer. May we care as much for one another’s spirits and souls as we do our bodies. Let us talk with God more often and listen to what he has to say to us. May we experience the powerful work of God in this world the same way that Elijah did! After all, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (v.17) I want to experience the power of prayer like Elijah did… how about you? Love you guys. - JDP