“Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? 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: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” (James 5:13-18)
HE CARETH FOR YOU
The more we live with this wonderful epistle of James, the more we become aware that it has come to us from the heart of a loving Heavenly Father. A Father who knows, understands, and really cares. He is a Father who loves and cares for every child of his equally the same. He is no respecter of persons.
WONDERFUL COUNSELOR
The counsel have before us now is valuable beyond measure. If we will listen and understand and become obedient to this council, we will be most blessed indeed.
ABOUT LIFE’S BIG THREE
The three circumstances we have mentioned here really do cover the whole of our experiences of our earthly life: Times of affliction, times when all seems well and we are merry or cheerful, and times of illness. Two of the three circumstances involved suffering, two different kinds of suffering, but nonetheless suffering. The third circumstance result in merriment.
WHAT TO DO
We have considered teachings in this epistle concerning things we as children of God ought to do as well as things we ought not to do. But how are we to respond and behave ourselves through these common experiences of life? Or to say it differently, how should we, as uncommon people react and conduct ourselves through times and events that are common to all? The verses now before us answer this. Already we have learned many things we should not do, attitudes we must avoid, and sins we must fear to commit. Now we are told simply, beautifully, and unmistakably what we should do.
WHEN YOU ARE AFFLICTED
“Is any among you afflicted?” The word afflicted in the Greek literally means to undergo hardship or to experience trouble. This is certainly a common experience of life. Trouble may comes from our circumstances, or it may also comes from people. The prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord are examples of men who suffered affliction and at the same time were men of patience. Some of the things those prophets suffered were the result of the times and circumstances in which they lived. The same will be true of some of our troubles. The important thing is that we sin not. We must not complain of the times or the circumstances. We must recognize that it is in these times and in these circumstances that God has called us to be His witnesses.
The prophets also had troubles that were caused by the people they dealt with or ministered to. Again the same will be true of some of our troubles. But again, we must not sin. We must not complain against our brother, or judge our brother, or avoid our neighbor, or show respect of persons. It is among these people our Lord has placed us to be witnesses for Him. And we must be true to Him who has called us.
PRAY
In times of affliction we must pray! Is that all? Isn’t there something more we can do? Shame on us for asking that! What greater thing could we do? What nobler thing could we do? How better could we stay in the place of safety and keep from sinning? To whom could we go with more power to help both us and our situation?
We must think of prayer as communication with our Heavenly Father. We must always remember that our Heavenly Father is God Almighty, the Creator and Ruler of the universe. What a privilege we have as Christians. This is an invitation to bring our troubles and cares to Him, to enlist His help, to receive His wisdom. His desire and promise to help us is implied in the invitation. How wrong it would be to ignore an invitation such as this one coming from God himself.
DON’T BE MISLED
We must be careful though, that we do not consider these directives from God as merely providing us with an emotional outlet. Some have viewed it this way to their own great loss. We must not adopt the practice of interpreting God’s will from a psychological standpoint. Such a viewpoint is very small and very selfish. To pray when we are suffering trouble or to sing when we are happy may be emotional releases, but in the light of the real will and intent of God it is hardly worth mentioning.
We must always view the counsel of God as the wisest and most realistic approach there is to our situations of life. But to follow the psychological viewpoint is to completely lose sight of proper Christian priorities as revealed in God’s Word.
PRAYER PRIORITIES
Such priorities are clearly seen in our Lord’s teaching on the mount concerning prayer. (Matt. 6:9-13) Our first concern as children of our Heavenly Father ought to be that His name be hallowed or esteemed Holy among us. Our second petition expresses our desire for His Kingdom to come, and thirdly our desire for His will to be done, here on earth, like it is in heaven. It is only after these dominant desires are expressed that we become concerned about our personal needs and situations.
If we can view our needs and situations in the light of the larger matters, we will not pray selfishly. And we will pray in faith because we will have confidence that we are praying according to the will of God.
DON’T BE LAZY
We should also avoid the practice of requesting others to do our praying for us. If we request others to pray it should be with us and we should not feel excused from our own Christian duty. The counsel of God is that the one who is suffering affliction should pray. It is a fine thing if we can enlist the prayers of others, but I venture to say that the will of God will not and cannot be done unless His Word is obeyed and the one personally involved goes to God in prayer.
DON’T LOSE YOUR BLESSING
Many opportunities and many blessings have been lost because of failure to simply obey this word from God that positively announces, “Let him pray.” What a beautiful and hopeful picture is the scene described by the Lord in a vision to Ananias. In sending Ananias to the house of Judas to help one there called Saul of Tarsus, the Lord explained, “For behold, he prayeth.” (Acts 9:9-6)
WHEN YOU’RE IN HIGH SPIRITS
“Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.” Here we have a different situation. A better word would be “cheerful” or “high spirited.” Such a state of cheerfulness could only be the result of truly believing all things are well. This is not the cheerfulness which some may practice in pretense for face saving reasons or in order to impress others. This word is written to those who are genuinely cheerful. Those who would have to pretend cheerfulness would fall under the previous group, the ones who are suffering affliction. These are people who really believe that all things are well.
ONE WAY THIS COULD BE
One way a person is able to come to the knowledge that all is well is when things are apparently well. That is, by our own senses and judgment we ascertain that all is well. It is strictly a judgment that is based on outward appearance and is obvious to us. Such occasions of course are wonderful but it is also true that such occasions are very rare in the lives of many people in this world. On this basis alone many people would rarely if ever be genuinely cheerful about life in this world.
ANOTHER WAY
The other way is a gift of love from God, a way whereby we can know and be assured that all is well, even though by outward appearances it may not seem so. There are some wonderful examples of this in the Scriptures.
The Greek word translated “merry” in this verse is not translated so anywhere else in the New Testament. The word is not used often, but where it is it is usually translated “of good cheer.”
An account is given in Acts 27 of Paul traveling as a prisoner by sailing ship to Rome. At one point the crew encountered a ferocious storm, and the Scripture states; “All hope that we should be saved was taken away.” But after a time of fasting and prayer, Paul stood before the men of the ship and spoke confidently, “I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall bee even as it was told me.” (Acts 27:21-25)
SAFE AND HAPPY
The truth is obvious, we could enjoy many more hours and days of good cheer if we would only obey the counsel of the Lord and in times of trouble and affliction we would pray. As a result of our spending time with God in prayer, we would receive the assurance and promise that all is well. We would experience “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, that shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil.4:7) And we would hear the whisper of the Spirit to our soul; fear not, be of good cheer, for the Lord does all things well.
“But when thou pray, enter into they closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matt. 6:6)
AND IT IS REAL
Let me emphasize, this is not just the psychological exercise of mental discipline where we tell ourselves that all is well. No! It is the actual experience of bringing our cares to God through Christ in prayer and hearing Him tell us that all is well. Often He does this by bringing to our remembrance the things He has recorded in His written Word. But more than this we are also assured by the Spirit of His mighty power by which He will show himself strong in our behalf, even according to His perfect will. For His Spirit does bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. (Rom. 8:16) There would be much reason for us to distrust an auto-suggestion but no reason at all to distrust the Word of the Lord.
THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT
Here too, is a place where we often disobey God by our desire to take a short-cut. Because we may be lazy or too busy to pray, we may try to seek assurances directly from the Bible. That is, we attempt to apply the words and promises of the Scripture to our particular case all on our own. Then we wonder why our faith wavers and doubts continually surge.
But when He applies a portion of His Word, by His Spirit, to our particular situation the result is peace and good cheer. For often during our audience with Him in prayer, He begins with correction, or reproof, or instruction, or teaching — areas we would omit in our hurried dash for the promise.
SONGS OF PRAISE
Now to the cheerful comes the word; “Let him sing psalms.” Not just sing, for if the instruction was just to sing we might think he was just suggesting a means of emotional release or expression. Not just sing, but sing psalms or songs of praise. Sing songs that trace our blessings and joys to their true source. Sing songs of God. Sing of His greatness and His goodness. Sing of His power and His great might. Sing of His grace and His mercy. Sing of His love and His pity. Sing songs that glorify, honor, and give esteem to the God of all the universe — our wonderful Heavenly Father.
It is good for us to sing praises to God, but it is also good for others who may hear us. God is concerned for them too, that they would hear that all glory and honor were given to Him and thereby learn the direction they too could turn for help in times of need.
ANY AMONG YOU SICK?
“Is any sick among you?” One of the things that is so wonderful about this portion of God’s Word is the obvious truth that God is very much aware of the various circumstances and experiences we through pass. More than this He seeks us out so that He might help us. He endeavors to teach us as one of His own, the proper things to do in the various trials of life.
Let us give Him the glory that is due Him. He has not waited for us to seek Him out. He is the one who brings up the subject. We might feel there is reason to keep silent, to suffer bravely alone so to speak. Perhaps because of some sort of self-condemnation we would be ashamed to tell Him we are sick. Maybe we would hesitate to go to Him as a result of some well meaning but wrong Christian brother, who as Job’s comforters of old, would make us feel guilty and ashamed for being sick.
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS ASKING
But now we don’t have to worry about any of these things because our wonderful Heavenly Father has inquired concerning our state. He has sent forth His Word asking if any of us are sick. Why has He done this? To scold us? To shame us? Absolutely not! To help us, that is why he asks. To instruct us what we should do when we are sick so that we would act responsibly as children of God and bring glory and praise to Him.
All of His children who become sick are included here, regardless of the cause of the sickness. If our sickness is a result of sin, or if it is a trial of our faith, or as in the case of Job a demonstration to principalities and powers that there are those who reverence God, love Him, and trust Him in spite of adversity. Whatever the reason, this is written to every believer who is sick.
DO THIS
What is the sick one to do? “Let him call for the elders of the church.” Now as we pursue the understanding of this teaching from God’s Word, we will of course assume that there are elders we can call, and those elders would respond to our call.
WHO ARE THE ELDERS?
The definite article used with the word elders — “the” elders — would indicate specifically duly appointed men as “the elders of the church.” In his letter to Titus the Apostle Paul gives instructions as to the qualifications of the men who would be considered for such appointment. Titus was instructed to “set in order the things that were wanting and ordain elders in every city.” The Scripture defines qualifications and responsibilities of these men and it is the Church’s responsibility to make available the services of these men to the congregation. (Titus 1:5-9, 1Tim. 3:2-7) Every church would do well to examine its position in this matter in order to fulfill its responsibilities before Christ. For how can the sick call for the elders of the church if there are none? He is not an elder who does not qualify. He is not an elder even though he qualify, if he has not been duly appointed.
CALL FOR THE ELDERS
When we are afflicted, we are to pray; when we are cheerful, we are to sing praise; but when we are sick, God has provided that someone would come to minister to us. When we as individuals are sick we obey God when we call the elders. As a church, we have obeyed God when we designated men as elders who can be called. The elders obey God when they come to minister to the sick one.
TAKE NOTE
It will be helpful to our understanding of this passage if we take note that the whole of the instruction to the sick person as well as what the elders are to do is found in verse 14. Verse 15 is a brief commentary on the possibilities we may expect as a result of following the instructions of verse 14. Verse 16 contains further instruction and comment in the light of those possibilities. Verses 17-18 illustrate the praying of the prayer of faith.
TWO THINGS
There are clearly two things the elders are to do when they come and both are important. It is very important for both the sick person and the elders to be aware of the purpose for their coming. The sick person is not instructed here to call someone who will come and sympathize with them or speak words of comfort and cheer, or even to read the Scriptures, or exhort the sick one to believe God. All these things are well and good in their place but that is not the purpose of their coming. At a time like this these things could only be considered secondary. Rather, “let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” It will be important that we discuss both of these things — the prayer and the anointing with oil in the name of the Lord — in light or the many ways this text has been treated and mistreated.
ANOINTING WITH OIL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
We must trace this practice back to the Old Testament to establish an understanding of its meaning. There we find that both persons and things were anointed with oil, but always and only in obedience to God’s instructions. Anointing was a symbolic act or ritual whereby persons or things were set apart and sanctified to God.
Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil in the name of the Lord. The vessels and pieces of furniture in the tabernacle and later the temple were anointed with oil in the name of the Lord, and again always in obedience to God’s instruction. Never was it done solely by the choice of a man. For then it could not have been in the name of the Lord, or as doing it in obedience to His command.
GOD’S ANOINTED
From the moment of their anointing they were considered to belong to God. By God and man they were considered to be holy and precious. Always the practice of the anointing with oil was carried out by a designated man of God and always in direct obedience to the Word of God. That is, it was a symbolic act on earth which symbolized an actual act of God in heaven. Also it provided a means of constantly reminding the people that these persons or things here considered by God as His own. They are now known as the Lord’s anointed.
In connection with this we should also mention its intent of permanence. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Rom. 11:29) It was David’s knowledge that King Saul was the Lord’s anointed (1Sam. 24) that governed his careful behavior toward Saul, even though Saul was living in willful disobedience to God and the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. (1Sam. 16:14) It was David’s respect for God and what God had intended that governed his behavior, not his respect for Saul at this point. And when he heard of Saul’s shameful death he could only rend his garment and mourn and weep in lamentation saying; “The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high places! How are the mighty fallen!” (2Sam. 1:19)
WHAT IT MEANS
So then, the implications and overtones of meaning which are symbolized by the “anointing with oil in the Name of the Lord,” are beautiful and wonderful to contemplate. For we clearly see:
1. The sovereignty of God (it is by His command).
2. The calling and election of God (designated by the act of anointing).
3. The endowment of power or enablement for service from God (designated by the oil, the symbol
of the Holy Spirit).
4. The new ownership of God (the anointed one now is God’s anointed).
5. The care and protection of God (He jealously protects and cares for those who are His, cares what
happens to them, how they are treated, when they suffer, and how they react to all this.)
6. The permanence of the calling of God (the gifts and calling of God are without repentance).
7. The purpose of God being worked out (through His anointed His Name is glorified, His
Kingdom represented, and His Will accomplished.)
IT MEANS THE SAME TODAY
Now in the New Testament the meaning of course is the same. We are told, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil: for God was with Him”. (Acts 10:38) His very title Christ means the anointed one of God.
But every true believer also has received an anointing. The Apostle John recorded the importance of the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel. He also wrote in his first epistle: “But ye have an unction (anointing) from the Holy One”. (1John 2:20) “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you”. (1John 2:27) And the Apostle Peter points out this fact saying: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people”. (1Peter 2:9)
ITS PURPOSE TODAY
What is the purpose then of this symbolic act for the sick person as instructed in James? Since it is coming after the fact it can only serve as a reminder that the believer is an anointed one of God. We must not think of his anointing with oil as a prophetic act pointing to some future anointing. Neither can we think of it as a present act of anointing. Rather we must think of it as a reminder of a very real and abiding anointing which we have received in the past. For this is a ministry exclusive to sick believers. There is a ministry to unbelievers who are sick, but it is certainly a ministry of a different kind.
Nothing could be more wonderful for a child of God when they become sick than to have a reminder brought to him by the hand of proven men of faith in the church that God is sovereign. He is still on the throne. You are His anointed servant even when you’re sick. You are still His property and without His consent nothing can by any means harm you. The Holy Spirit is present in power to enable you to endure for a season, or to heal your sick body and make you whole, in accordance with God’s will. The purpose and will of God has not been abandoned, but is still being worked out. God is very near. Can you think of anything that could comfort a sick believer more than that? I cannot!
ITS IMPORTANCE
Obviously I cannot agree with those who say, it is the prayer that is important, the anointing with oil is not important. It would not be written if it were not important. It would naturally seem unimportant however, if not understood. A symbolic act is of not profitable if the meaning of that act is not understood. If the sick person or even the elders cannot interpret the meaning of such an act, it will be to them as though they were in a foreign land unable to understand its language, and hence, of no value.
THEY UNDERSTOOD
When James wrote, it was at the dawn of church history and the believers were mainly Jews who had been reared and schooled in the Old Testament. They knew and understood the meaning of the anointing with oil in the name of the Lord. It spoke something to them. They felt the meaning of it.
ITS NOT SURPRISING
We should not be surprised at this for there is much New Testament language that can only be interpreted by a knowledge of the Old Testament. Our mistake would be in minimizing the importance of the Old Testament. After all, the Old Testament constituted the whole of Scripture at the time of the birth of the Church and at the time James wrote. We must not divide our Bible into two parts and lay more importance on one of those parts. The Old Testament from its beginning is a continued unfolding of revelation concerning the great activity of God in His work to reconcile the fallen race back to Himself in love; a work to restore to His creatures all that had been lost by the great separation; a work is deep and penetrating in scope and meaning; a work wrought with power and might; a work so boldly displaying every attribute of the Holy Creator God that the angels stand in awe. Not one small part of the whole universe will remain untouched at the time of the consummation of God’s great story of redemption and restoration.
In the New Testament we see the bud opening to full bloom, but we must go to the Old Testament to see the root, stem, branch and foliage from whence this miracle has bloomed.
CAUTION
The blessings our Heavenly Father has provided in His instructions to the sick and to the church in ministering to the sick can be and have been lost because of disobedience to His instructions or because of a hasty and ignorant interpretation of these instructions. Such wrong handling of God’s Word too is a result of disobedience and can only lead to further disobedience.
NOW ITS TIME TO PRAY
After having anointed the sick one with oil in the name of the Lord, the elders are then to pray over the sick one. The word pray in this verse is the same word used in verse 13 where the afflicted one is instructed to pray. It simply means to look to God asking for His help. Here it is the elders that are to do it for the sick one.
WE HAVE LEARNED
When the afflicted one prays, as we have already seen, the result is the assurance and promise from God that all is and will be well in the hands of God. This in turn result in good cheer and the singing of praises which glorify God.
The important thing is that we do not adopt the erroneous idea as some have, that this means we will be kept from trouble and affliction. In some cases no doubt we will, but we are not assured of that at all. We are assured however that we will be kept, if not from, then in and through those difficulties.
In the example we used earlier the Apostle Paul was not kept from shipwreck but kept in spite of shipwreck, and it was the promise of this that cheered his heart. Again we have to apply what we learned earlier of value of the trial of our faith. As these trials work patience we are admonished to let patience have her perfect work.
AND SO IT IS HERE
It is important thing now that we see that the same is true here in the prayer for the sick one. The first concern is not for instant healing or escape from suffering, but rather that the whole matter be put into the most capable hands, those of our Lord and our Heavenly Father.
Mark now, we are still dealing with verse 14, not the following verse which speaks of “the prayer of faith” and its results.
PERSONAL FAITH
We are dealing here with individual, personal faith — the faith we exercise in a hundred different ways in our daily walk as children of our Heavenly Father, and as the redeemed of our Lord Jesus. A question well to be pondered is whether it takes greater faith on our part to receive instant deliverance or to patiently and trustfully endure suffering for a season if God wills, as in the case of Job.
It is the trial of our faith that is more precious than gold. (1Peter 1:7) “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him,” (Job 13:15) was the expression of Job’s faith as he endured great affliction and sickness. The important thing is that there is prayer to God which is an expression of our desire to remain in His capable hands and have His will worked out in our lives.
PRESUMPTUOUS SIN
The thing we must fear is the faithless tendency to make carnal and self-centered demands on our Heavenly Father, telling Him what He should do and demanding when He do it. Some think that if they have enough faith, they can command God and He will obey them. Scripture calls this presumptuous sin. God save us from presumptuous sins! (Psalm 19:13, Deut. 18:22)
The opposite of course is true. The more faith we have, the more submissive we will be to God and His Word, and the more quickly we will obey His instructions. After having done that, we will trust Him to work out His purpose.
LOOK AGAIN
Now before we leave this verse and go on to the next let us look again at the exact wording of the instruction. “Let them pray over him…” It says the elders are to pray, not command, not demand, but pray. The elders are men of faith who know how to obey the Word when it says, “In every things by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phi. 4:6-7)
TWO POSSIBILITIES
Until now we have been looking only at verse 14 which contains the inquiry as to whether there are any sick and the instruction as to what the sick one is to do. Verses 15 through 18 deal with two possibilities connected with prayer for the sick. Along with each possibility a promise is given. This in turn is followed by divine light or revelation so that we might understand the working of them both.
The first possibility is of “the prayer of faith” being prayed. It is a very positive statement and full of promise. “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.”
The second possibility is that the sick one has committed sins. This too is a very positive statement and filled with promise: “And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
TRUTH TO THINK ABOUT
But there is more to be said concerning both of these situations and our Lord has been very gracious to give us the light and understanding we need in order that we might properly enter into the promise. So then, we must look at the whole of the information given us in connection with both of these subjects in order that we know and understand the truth concerning these matters.
THE PRAYER OF FAITH
If the prayer of faith is prayed, the sick will be restored and the Lord shall raise him up. The promise rests on the prayer of faith being prayed. What we must understand is when and how can the prayer of faith be prayed.
Obviously the prayer of faith is not always prayed, for the sick are not always healed. It is at this point that we must be careful not to make any false implications or wrongly blame or rationalize. Such a practice can only serve to further rob us of the blessings of God. To blame the sick one for not having faith or to blame the elders for not having faith is certainly a wrong direction to take. We must rather understand the scriptural teaching, for that is the purpose of this text.
DEFINITION
The truth is no one can pray the prayer of faith except it be given him from God. Just because the prayer of faith has not been prayed does no necessarily mean the elders did not pray in faith.
To show the distinction James uses a different word in the Greek in referring to the prayer of faith than what he used previously in instructing them to pray over the sick one. We have already discussed the meaning of the first word pray. It is used in the instructions both to the afflicted one in his prayer for himself and to the elders in their prayer for the sick. It means simply to look to God and ask for His help.
The word James now uses in reference to the prayer of faith is a completely distinct word. In its noun form it is found only three times in the New Testament. Only here is it translated “prayer.” Twice it is translated “vow.” (Acts 18:18, 21:23) In the verb form, James uses this word in verse 16 where he tells us, “Pray one for another.”
To summarize the difference in meaning between these two different words that James uses for prayer, I believe we must say that the word translated “pray” in the instruction to the afflicted one and also to the elders, is an exercising of the believer’s privilege to pray. The second word translated “pray” is an exercising of the believer’s obligation to express in desire what he already knows to be the divine will. That is why the prayer of faith cannot be prayed except it be given by God.
The one who prays the prayer of faith has already been shown the divine will concerning a specific case at the specific time. In praying he expresses his wish and makes his petition that the specific thing be done. And it is done!
Remember, the basis for knowing it is to be done can only come from God Himself. This knowledge often comes while praying over the sick one. Sometimes it is learned ahead of time while in prayer. We cannot judge what should or what should not come to pass, much less at what specific time it should come to pass. Only God can do that. (I realize there are some who teach to the contrary but there is no license in scripture for such teaching.) Unless God indicates plainly to us what should be done we have no way of knowing and therefore it would be impossible for us to pray the prayer of faith.
THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN
Now let us look at the example given to us in our text. First, we are told that “the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much.” This is meant to be more than just a beautiful statement. It is meant to shed light on this business of prayer. Notice it is a righteous man who is praying the fervent, effectual prayer that will avail much. (We learned earlier in this epistle that a double-minded man was unstable in his way and has no right to expect anything from the Lord.)
A righteous man will not be careless in prayer. He will not ask for things he is not sure are the will of God. When he is not sure the best he can do is pray “not my will, but Thine be done.” He will not say he believes it is God’s will unless God indeed has revealed it to him, or else he would not be a righteous man. But, when he does know and it has been shown to him, he has the confidence that if he asks anything according to God’s will, God will hear him. “And if we know he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1John 5:14-15)
ELIJHA AND US
Elijha is the example set before us of a righteous man whose fervent prayers availed much. Elijha was a man just like us. He was not formed with a special nature or in some special mold but he was just like us. That assures us that what was true for him will be true for us also. To some it should also be pointed out that the opposite is also true, that none of us are of a special nature above Elijha either.
After we have been assured that he was not some sort of super-man, we are told of two occasions he prayed the prayer of faith and his prayers were answered. What he had prayed for happened just like he asked. Why? Why was he able to pray the prayer of faith?
Let us answer this by asking some more questions. Whose idea was it that there should be a drought in the first place? Whose decision was it that rain should be withheld for three years and six months? Who decided when it was time to pray for rain? The answer to all these questions is the same. These were God’s decisions in every case. Elijah was merely the servant, the spokesman for God.
GOD AND ELIJHA
God spoke to Elijha and said, “Go show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” (1Kings 18:1) Elijha obeyed God and showed himself to Ahab. He revealing himself to Ahab as a true servant of the true God against the false prophets of a false gods. His demonstration proved to Ahab and to all Israel who truly was God and that he was God’s servant. After showing himself to Ahab he went up to the top of Mount Carmel to pray for rain. Elijah having obeyed God now prayed according to the revealed will of God. It was not his idea: it was God’s. Mark that well!
GOD AND US
The essence of the prayer of faith is the will of God. And we can only know the will of God if God reveals His will to us. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom 10:17)
This is not to say that the believer will not come up with noble and good ideas, but our ideas must be tested before the throne of God. The will of God who knows and understands all must be learned and accepted.
GOD IS SOVEREIGN
Again it must be emphasized that the fact that the prayer of faith is not prayed does not mean that those praying do not have faith. They could have great faith. The important thing is that they are praying. It is God’s will that we pray. We must never allow ourselves to become discouraged just because the will of God for a specific case is not immediately revealed to us. We must believe that all things are working together for good for the one involved. We must patiently trust Him.
Elijah could not pray the prayer of faith for rain after 2 years, or 2 1/2 years, or even after three years. After 3 1/2 years had expired, God revealed to Elijah that it was time. Then Elijah could pray the prayer of faith. Yet all the while Elijah remained a man of faith and a man of prayer, and so must we.
UNCONFESSED SINS
The second possibility is that the sick one may have committed sins. We are immediately told that “if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” This is a positive and comforting statement of promise for the one who is sick.
Surely this should keep us from falling into the trap of Satan’s condemnation, which is one of his wily ways. For after we have been anointed with oil in the name of the Lord and the elders have prayed over us, if there is not immediate healing, Satan may whisper, “maybe its because you have sinned.” How wonderful at a time like that to be assured by the Word of the Lord that sins can be forgiven.
CONFESSION AND PRAYER
In considering the prayer of faith we found there were further things to be said, here the same is true too. In light of the promise we are told, “Confess therefore your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.”
There are two possible problems implied here we must consider. First is the possibility of unconfessed or hidden sins which would hinder one from receiving from God. Second, the there is a possibility of hesitancy in wanting to pray for one after hearing his confession of guilt. It might be easy at times like this for thoughts like, “no wonder you’re sick, you got what you had coming,” or, “if you’d been living right you wouldn’t be suffering now.” Such thoughts and feelings would make it very difficult to pray properly for one another.
A SICKROOM SCENE
Let us not forget the setting and context of these Scriptures. There have been some who have removed this verse out of the context of the sickroom and attempted to apply it in unwholesome ways in public places. Please leave it in the context in which God has put it o that we don’t become guilty. The sickroom by this time has become a sacred place of prayer. The only people present are the sick one, possibly some close loved ones, and the elders of the church. No one else!
IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Then why does it say to confess one to another? We can understand this if we can imagine the situation. The sick one has called for the elders of the church. They have come and in obedience to the Word of God they have anointed the sick one with oil in the name of the Lord. This is a very solemn and sacred act filled with holy and hopeful meaning. God’s presence becomes very real. If there be any hidden sin in the life of the sick one, he will become conscious of it in the presence of the Lord. Being a sincere believer and knowing God’s Word, he will confess his sin.
In the presence of the Holy Spirit the elders too may become conscious of sins in their lives. Possibly sins of carelessness, of irreverence, or of disobedience. They too will realize they must confess their sins that their prayers be not hindered. And so behind closed doors, these who have come together in obedience to the Word of the Lord confess their sins one to another and to God who will forgive them. But they must also pray one for another, forgiving and asking forgiveness, so that their prayers and their faith won’t be hindered.
AN ILLUSTRATION
A beautiful illustration of this is in the story of Job. His three friends came to him in his suffering, but they did not speak the thing that was right concerning God and His ways. (Job 42:7) God’s anger was kindled against them and He instructed them to take bullocks and rams for a burnt offering, which was their confession of guilt, and go to Job and have him pray for them. Then according to the record; “the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.” (Job 42:10)