Ep. 119 | Talking with God | James

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring James 5:13-18. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

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Welcome to Formed by the Word. Many people have a faith that works well on Sunday but struggles on Monday. The book of James was written to bridge that gap. This letter speaks directly to real life, our struggles, our relationships, our speech, our priorities, and our response to difficult circumstances. Over the next several weeks, we'll be walking through James, a practical and challenging letter often called the Proverbs of the New Testament. James doesn't just teach us what to believe, he shows us how genuine faith works in everyday life. James calls believers to a faith that is visible, active, and genuine. A faith that doesn't merely hear God's word but puts it into practice. As we journey through this powerful book together, my prayer is that God would shape us into people whose faith is seen not only in what we say, but in how we live. After all, faith is more than words. It's a life that is being formed by the truth of God's word.

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If I were to ask you, do you believe in prayer? Most Christians would answer, Of course I do. But that's probably the wrong question. A better question is, when is prayer your first response instead of your last resort? It's amazing how quickly people turn to prayer when their life is falling apart. A frightening diagnosis, a broken relationship, a financial crisis, a natural disaster, and suddenly everyone says, please pray for me. Now, not that that's wrong, but James paints a much broader picture. He says that prayer isn't just for emergencies, it should be the normal rhythm of the Christian life. Prayer is not a last resort to the Christian, it's our continual dependence upon God. Therefore, every season of life is an invitation to pray. So James is drawing his letter to an end, but before he closes out, he wants to remind his readers that our faith journey is guided by God's wisdom and fueled by grace. But he doesn't want us to forget that one of the key ingredients to a strong finish is prayer. There's much about prayer that we can take from this part of James, but I want to share four movements that I observe in the passage that I think would be helpful to us. Number one, James says, pray in every season. Verses thirteen and fourteen read like this. He says, Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. So James gives us three situations that call for prayer. He says, If anyone is suffering, pray. If anyone's cheerful, sing praise. And by the way, praise is simply prayer set to music. Is anyone sick? Call for the elders. Yes, these are specific movements and circumstances, but maybe in the larger scheme, James is saying every circumstance in life should drive us toward God, whether it's pain or joy, illness or health, everything, every moment points us to our Heavenly Father. Many people pray only in suffering. But James says, pray when you're hurting, pray when you're happy, seek prayer when you're weak. I think the point is to pray without ceasing. That's what Paul said. That's prayer. That's a regular rhythm of life. Prayer is not a use as needed reaction. The second thing I notice is that James says prayer belongs in community. Verses 14 through 16. James says, Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. Man, there's so much we could say about this verse. I would be well beyond my ten minute limit. So let me push the direction this way. I think James is saying for one thing here that prayer is always personal, but it's not always private. Notice how many people James involves in this discussion. He talks about a sick person who calls upon his or her Christian community for prayer. It talks about the elders who pray and who anoint with oil. He talks about the church and how the church confesses their need for the Lord's intervention in their lives, and then the church prays. You see, Christianity is not meant to be a solo journey. One of Satan's favorite lies is handle this yourself. James says, no, invite God's people into your struggle. I think that's a huge application today. Don't miss this part of the movement. Prayer belongs in community. Third, James says, prayer is powerful. Look at verse 15. He says, the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer, here it is, of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. This is probably the central idea that James is trying to get to. James says the prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. Not because the person praying is extraordinary, not because the act of praying is extraordinary, but because the God we're praying to is extraordinary. And then the final thing I want you to see is James says prayer really does change things. And then he mentions a very clear example from the Old Testament. In verses 17 and 18, here's how he concludes this section. He says Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. Then he prayed again. And the sky gave rain, and the land produced its fruit. Now here's an interesting example to make his point about prayer. James chooses Elijah the prophet as an example of how prayer changes things. Now he could have chosen Moses or Daniel, he could have chosen David, he could have chosen a multitude of Old Testament and New Testament people, but he chose Elijah. Why Elijah? Well, I think it's curious the way he starts off. James says that Elijah was a human being just as we are. And then he says literally of like passions. That is, he had the same fears and he had the same weaknesses. He had the same struggles that we have. Yet God answered. Now, truthfully, Elijah hardly seems ordinary to me. As a matter of fact, he's one of the great prophets that we have in the Old Testament, one of the bold prophets in the Old Testament. He confronted kings. He called down fire from heaven on the mountain. He multiplied food. He raised the dead and was taken to heaven in a whirlwind. He didn't even die. He was just transferred, translated, if you will. Yet James says, don't miss this. While all of that is true, really he was just like you. He experienced fear, 1 Kings 19. He experienced discouragement, loneliness. He even experienced depression. You remember the time when he was in the cave and he said, Take my life, Lord. Extremely depressed. He experienced exhaustion and doubt. James says, Don't forget he was just like us. His effectiveness in prayer didn't come from being superhuman. It came from trusting a great God. Again, the power isn't in the person praying, it's in the God who hears the prayer. So Elijah's life was characterized by prayer. I think that's why he was chosen by James. James isn't choosing someone who prayed occasionally. Almost every major event in Elijah's ministry was preceded by prayer. He prayed, you might remember 1 Kings 17 and 1 Kings 18. He prayed for a drought, for the widow's son to live. He prayed on Mount Carmel for fire to come down out of heaven, and he prayed for rain after the drought. And each time God answered. Prayer wasn't Elijah's last resort, it was his first response. Likewise, James has commanded believers to pray. He says, Pray in times of suffering. Pray when you're sick. Pray in confession. Pray for one another. Who would better illustrate a life of continual prayer than Elijah? Elijah's story perfectly demonstrates persistence in prayer. And James specifically mentions the drought and the rain for that very reason. Because Elijah didn't simply say one quick prayer on Mount Carmel. He prayed repeatedly. In first Kings eighteen, he sent his servant to look for rain. You remember? He sent him to look for rain because he had prayed for rain. The servant went out and saw nothing. He sent him again, again nothing. He sent him again, nothing. Seven times he sent him before. Finally, he saw the cloud of rain coming. This perfectly illustrates the persistence of believing prayer. Prayer is not, remember friends, prayer is not informing God of a need. It's depending on God for that need. You see, James wants us to stop thinking prayer works for spiritual giants. No, prayer works because God answers. Not because prayer is magic, not because prayer manipulates God, but because prayer brings us into partnership with God's purposes. James isn't giving us a formula. He's encouraging confidence that God will indeed hear. So let me wrap it up by saying just a couple of words. What if every circumstance this week became a prayer prompt for you? Whatever you find yourself in, whatever occurs, whatever the circumstances, what if that were to become a prayer prompt for you? Suppose you get bad news, pray. If you get good news, that's a prompt to praise. You hear that someone's hurting, pray with them. Or someone's wandering away, pursue them. James says the Christian life isn't lived independently, it's lived with our eyes lifted toward heaven and our hands linked with God's people. So my takeaway today is this prayer doesn't require a perfect person, it requires a faithful God. The greatest evidence that we depend on God is that we regularly talk with Him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege to pray. Forgive us that we don't pray more often. Forgive us, Lord, when we only come to you when things are desperate. Teach us to pray. Teach us when to pray, how to pray, where to pray. Most of all, Lord, remind us to pray. I thank you that that answer prayer is not because of our habit, but because of a mighty God we serve. Amen and amen.

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Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the Scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.