The prayer of faith

TEXT: James 5:13-16

PRAYER is NEEDFUL. Everybody agrees that in almost everything, we strengthen our words of yearning by saying it through prayer. So prayer becomes essential and always a requirement when we come in whatever position in life. With prayer we entreat to God, appeal with faith, make our desires known, hope, plead and even wish our fancies.

Who needs PRAYER? Our text mentions those suffering (v13). The Greek ‘kakopathia’ describes them as the ones in hardship and suffering affliction. Who is in the world today not going through such experience? We all are. The ‘astheneo’ (Greek for the sick) in verse 14 desire prayers. They are the diseased, the week and feeble. The dictionary includes even those known to be impotent (the ones unable to help).

THE PRAYER OF FAITH. From our key verse, the prayer of faith saves one from sickness (v15). This means that aside from recovery in sickness one gets saved from sin—when you point the sickly to Jesus Christ--the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). When he believes in Him, he will be delivered from death that is just round the corner for Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26). The prayer full of belief in Jesus’ name will forgive the sins of the sick and he is likewise restored back to Christian fellowship (2 Corinthians 2:7-10) since his fellow members (or the ones praying for him will gain the knowledge of forgiving him of his mistakes and comfort him that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. He will then receive spiritual cleansing because he has been prayed upon.

PRAYER FOR HEALING. First comes confession of one’s sins. The Greek word for this is ‘exomologee’ which means to acknowledge, agree fully, confess, profess and promise. You will not get healing if you still have that annoyance in yourself caused by the relationship hurts or other offenses you may have against God and men, knowing it all and hiding it instead. When praying for the sick brother or sister (‘yokomahee’) we are to pray to God and entrust him to the Almighty’s will, not on our own inclination.

REVIEW. “God never intended prayer to change His purpose or move Him to come to fresh ideas. He has ordained that we be saved through the means of preaching the gospel, but prayer is also a means of salvation. We have seen that it is His will that we pray; it fits into the design of His purpose. Prayer is therefore not a vain exercise but a means by which God exercises His decrees. When we pray for things God has already decreed, things happen! These prayers are not meaningless.” (John W. Ritenbaugh “The Sovereignty of God: Part Nine”)