Sermon:
Prayer
By:
Bro. Alan Thorpe
Date:
March 25, 2001

TEXT: JAMES 5:13-18

INTRODUCTION

The gift of speach is a marvelous blessing, if it is used to the glory of God. The book of James has a lot to say about the tongue; James mentioned some of the lowest uses of the tongue: We complain and swear - James 5:9,5:12. But he also mentioned some of the highest uses of the tongue: We proclaim God's word. and praying and praising God James 5:10, 5:13

Let us Pray

Prayer is certainly a high and holy privilege. As God's children we can come freely and boldly to his throne and share our needs with him, when the troubles of life come upon us. Instead of complaining about the situation, take it to the lord in pray. God hears and answers prayers.

  1. PRAY FOR THE SUFFERING (v.13)

    Is anyone in trouble? He should pray. Paul used the word trouble to describe the circumstances he was in as he suffered for the sake of the gospel 2 Timothy 2:19

    As children of God going through life, you must endure difficulties that are not the results of Sin or the chastening of God. Some may ask what should we do when we find ourselves in such circumstances?
    What should you do? You must not grumble and criticize a brother who is not having as difficult time as you are; Nor should you blame the Lord (James 5:9). We should pray asking God for the wisdom to understand the situation and use it to his glory, James 1:5.

    Prayer can remove affliction, if it is Gods' will, prayer can also give us the grace we need to endure troubles and using them to accomplish God's perfect Will. We must know God's will, God can transform troubles into victory James 4:6. In 2 Cor 12:7-10 Paul prayed that God might change his circumstances, but instead God gave him the grace he needed to turn his weakness into strength.

    Our Lord prayed in Gethsemane that the cup might be removed, and it was not; yet the father gave him the strength he needed to go to the cross and die for our sins. In times of trouble, pray, God's grace is sufficient for you. There is power in prayer.

  2. IS ANYONE HAPPY: Let him sing songs of praise (v13)

    Do we all go through trouble at the same time? NO! James indicated that everyone does not go through troubles at the same time "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise".

    God balances our lives and gives us hours of suffering and days of singing. A mature christian knows how to sing while he is suffering, (Anyone can sing after the troubles have passed). God is able to give "songs in the night" when there are troubles in the night" Job 35:10. Consider also Paul and Silas who were suffering in a Philippian jail in Acts 16:25.

    In the early church praying and singing were important elements in worship. Similarly it is Truth, that praying and singing should be as important to us and the church.
    Our Singing ought to be an expression of our inner spiritual life. Our Praise should be divine and not just the mouthing of words or ideas that mean nothing to God 1 Cor 14:15. Our singing must come from the heart Eph 5:19. It should be motivated by the Holy Spirit ( Eph 5:18), ( Col 3:16) and not simply on the clever ideas of men. If a song is not biblical, it is not acceptable to God.

  3. PRAY FOR THE SICK (v16-16)

    Many times church leaders prayer for the sick, some times God gave healing, other times he did not. Some people will get well and others the Lord will call Home.

    Many people are sick today, not a physical sickness, but sick because of Sin. This is sin against God and against another individual. In some cases it may be against another brother or sister. You must confess your sins to one another. This sounds simple, but it is a very hard thing to do. A bother found he could not go to the church to confess his sins, so he called for spiritual leaders, the elders of the church, because the leaders were in charge of the discipline of the congregation.

    In the early church the believers practiced church discipline; 1 Cor 5 is a good example, Paul told believers at Corinth to dismiss the sinning member from the church until he repented of his sins and made things right.

  4. Pray for the nation Barbados for we also have our problems in society and our fears. Pray for nation of Britian & the United Kingdom which are currently in the grips of battle with Foot and Mouth Disease; it is spreading quickly, the authorities are putting a number of measures in place to stop its spread but there is only one sure cure this is God, pray to him that he may stop this menace dead in its tracks.

  5. CONFESS AND PRAY AND YOU MAY BE HEALED (v 16)
    Prayer of Faith

    It is not the anointing that heals, but praying. Anointing in this case is only medicinal as in Luke 10 with the good samaritan. God heals without medicinal in this case, by prayer of faith, some may ask, What is the prayer of Faith? Well the answer may be found in 1 John 5:14-15

    The "Prayer of Faith" is a prayer offered when you know the will of God. The Elders or leaders would seek the mind of God in the matter, and then pray according to his will.

    One must remember that it is not one individual who is praying, it is the body of leaders - spiritual Men of God - who seek God's will and pray. James did not instruct the believer to send for a faith healer. The matter was in the hands of the leaders of the local church.

IN CONCLUSION:

There are some things which you as a Church and as individuals must take care not to over look.

  1. Disobedience to God can lead to sickness. This was David's experience, when he tried to hide his sins(ps.32).

  2. Sin affects the whole church. We can never sin alone for sin has a way of growing and infecting others. The man had to confess his sins to the church because he had sinned against the church.

  3. There is Healing (physical and spiritual) when sin is dealt with.

    "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but who-so-ever confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy"
    Prov 28:13
    The confessing that james wrote about is done among the church. We confess our sins first of all to the Lord (1 John 1:9), but we must also confess them to those who have been affected by them.

You must pray...

for those who are Troubled
for those who are Happy
for those who are Sick
for Faith

Confess your Sins

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