TRANSFIGURATION PRAYER: Where Heaven Meets Here | James Teaches Us to FOLLOW in Prayer | Convo #5

What kind of pray-er are you: a talker, a listener, or somewhere in between? We step onto the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, then follow James down the mountain and into the real world where faith is tested and shaped. While Peter speaks, the Father issues a single command, "Listen to Him," and that command becomes the turning point for James, a Son of Thunder whose life eventually moves from ambition to obedience.

Join Tosha Williams in this conversation as we explore how James’ fiery impulse to call down judgment gives way to a life marked by prayer and  courage. We look at the scenes that formed him:  from the glory on the mountain, the prayerful waiting in Acts 1, and eventually the courtroom where he paid the ultimate price. Though none of James' words are recorded, we learn from him a willingness to follow Jesus no matter what. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and FOLLOW Me" (Matthew 16:24), and "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they FOLLOW Me" (John 10:27). You’ll be inspired how a life of prayer speaks loudest through faithful steps: listening to God along the way, praying when God feels silent, choosing obedience when quitting seems easier.

This episode offers a fresh vision of spiritual strength: not louder words, but a deeper willingness. We draw practical lines from James’ story to our own rhythms, shifting from “God, give me” to “Jesus, where you go, I’ll go." Along the way, we honor the quiet force of a life that outlives words and invite you to let your steps become a wordless amen that echoes beyond today, too.

Spend some time with the Lord using the accompanying devotion-driven discipleship guide that can be found at James Teaches Us to Follow.

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations  along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media. 

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Transcript

Setting The Scene On The Mountain

Meet James, Son Of Thunder

Zeal, Ambition, And Grace

From Fire To Intercession

Followership Over Words

Listening As The First Step

Martyrdom And Lasting Witness

Shaping Our Own Prayers

Practice: Seek Him, Speak Him

Transformation And A Loud Amen

Closing Encouragement

SPEAKER_00 0:06

What kind of prayer are you? Are you a talker? Are you more of a listener? Are you a little bit of both? You know, throughout Scripture, we see all kinds of people who meet with God in all kinds of ways. And nowhere do we see this more true than in the lives of those who were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus? Jesus went up the mountain to pray, and he took three of his disciples with him: Peter, James, and John. And while they were up there, they met with two spiritual giants, Moses and Elijah. Turns out we can learn something about prayer from all five of those people. We've looked at Moses, Elijah, and Peter, and all three teach us so much. But now we're going to look at the life of the next man who is on the mountain with them. And his name is James. We don't have any recorded prayers that James prayed. And yet, sometimes I think that the deepest prayers are the silent ones. Romans chapter 8, verse 26 reminds us that even the Spirit of God sometimes prays this way. Scripture says the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. It's from this perspective that we come to this next man who stood there on the mountain. James was a man whose words were not recorded in the Bible, and yet his life speaks the story of prayer that was lived, not just said. Hi, my name is Tasha Williams, and welcome to the Family Disciple Me Ministry. I'm so glad that you're here as we continue in this series through what we're calling transfiguration prayer, where heaven meets here. Now it's so easy to look at the three men that we've already talked about in this conversation series: Moses, Elijah, and Peter, but it's just as easily to look right on past the next man on the Mount of Transfiguration, the man whose name is James. Now, James was one of the two sons of Zebedee. Jesus nicknamed him and his brother John, who we're going to talk about in the next episode. Jesus nicknamed them the Sons of Thunder. Now, I don't know what you think, but I don't think that's a nickname for a quiet guy. It kind of sounds bold. It sounds passionate. It maybe even sound a little bit impulsive if you think about it. Just to clarify, we're not talking about James, the half-brother of Jesus, the one who wrote the book of James. We're talking about James the disciple, James the apostle, James the one that scholars call James the greater. And although he didn't leave behind written words, I believe he left behind a life that thundered with obedience. You see, James was there with Jesus for the miracles. James was there with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. James was there for the moments with Jesus, the moments that changed history, but also for the moments that changed his own life. James was there. He was present for this entire journey. But along the way, when we look closely, we realize that James wasn't always silent. He just had a lot to learn along the way. In the Gospels, we see his early zeal on full display. In fact, there was a moment where he was asking for a place of honor beside Jesus in glory. And then we see another moment where James wanted to call down fire from heaven on those who rejected Jesus. James had a fiery, he had an ambitious heart. He was full of passion. And yet he needed to be shaped by grace just like all of us. And that's the beauty of following Jesus. He meets us where we are and he changes us along the way. And over time, that's what I love about James' story, that thunderous ambition that he had, it was softened into a deep, meaningful, abiding relationship with the God of the universe. And whereas once he had wanted heaven to meet here by calling down fire from heaven on people who rejected Jesus, well, he learned to passionately pray for others as a believer. And the thing is, by the time we see James again in Acts chapter 1, verses 13 and 14, after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, James is named as one of the disciples who was there gathered together, seeking God's power and his anointing through of all things prayer. As we look deeper into James' life, we see that he laid down his self-promotion, his desire to make life about himself, his fire, even his fury. And eventually, he even laid down his very life to follow Jesus faithfully. And I believe that's the heartbeat of James' story that we can take into our lives. James teaches us to follow. And I love the theme verse for this conversation that captures James' testimony perfectly. Matthew chapter 16, verses 24 and 25. Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. You see, James followed Jesus up the mountain of glory and then down into the valley of human suffering. And he ended up following him all the way to his own martyrdom. And I believe, as I have contemplated James' story and considered it for my own life, I believe that James teaches us that prayer doesn't just talk to God, a life of prayer follows God. Prayer follows Jesus with a life that speaks louder than words. Let's go back for a moment to what James and Peter and John witnessed that day on the Mount of Transfiguration. Matthew chapter 17, verses 1 through 8 says in part, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. A bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the clouds said, This is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. Listen to him. That, my friend, is the only command from the Father in this moment. Listen to him. Peter spoke, but James listened. Maybe that's why his life thundered louder than his voice ever could, because James actually did what the Father commanded. He learned how to listen. And it turns out, I believe, that listening is the first step of following. For James, following started on that lake shore where Jesus said, Come follow me. For James, following Jesus continued up that mountain where he got to watch Jesus pray and see his glory. Eventually, following Jesus led to a courtroom where following Christ cost him everything. But through all of this, James reminds us over and over that prayer isn't about our words, it's about our willingness. It's not just about what we say to God, it's about how we respond to him. This willingness is something that we can articulate with our speech, with our language, but it comes out of a heart that says, Jesus, where you go, I'll go. The Gospels don't tell us a great deal more about James, but we see him again in Acts chapter 12, verse 2, when we read that King Herod had James killed by the sword. And James was the first apostle who was martyred for following Jesus. The same man who once wanted position and power. Well, now he stood fearless and he was willing to even accept death in the name of Jesus. You see, James didn't just pray, he didn't just speak words, he followed Jesus all the way to the end. And here's what I think is so amazing because James definitely was a person who lived out what we call seek him, spending time with God, learning how to follow him, listening to his voice. But James let that seek him become a speak him. And even though we don't have his recorded words, church history says that the man who accused James of being a Christ follower heard James' testimony when he stood before King Herod. And James's accuser actually ended up giving his life to Christ right then and there. And he accepted a martyr's death alongside James because of the word of James' testimony. That's amazing. That is a life of thunder that echoes beyond the grave. Someone else accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior because of James' willingness to follow Jesus. His life may have been silenced by a wicked king, and yet his testimony is a thunderclap that echoes down through history, reminding us that prayer and life and godliness speak beyond words. So what does it look like for you to follow Jesus right now? Maybe your prayer life is a little like James' prayer life was at the very beginning, where he wanted to call down some fire from heaven and let some people get what they deserved. I understand that kind of prayer. I can fall into that trap myself. Or maybe your prayer life is more like one of James' early prayers where he was trying to get Jesus to give him a position in heaven alongside his brother John. I know what that kind of prayer life is like as well. God, give me this. God, give me that. God do this for me. God open that door for me. Those aren't necessarily bad prayers. And yet, I don't believe that Jesus wants us to stay there when we follow him. Jesus wants us to follow him all the way to full obedience so that we're listening to his heart and then we're praying that for others. Maybe today, prayer for you looks like continuing to love somebody who's impossible to love. Maybe today following Jesus means continuing to pray for faith in a season where it feels like God is silent. Maybe today following Jesus means choosing obedience when it would be way easier to give up. When we follow Jesus like this, I believe that our lives become a prayer. And as we pray those prayers every moment throughout our day, Jesus, I will follow you. Jesus, I will go where you lead. Jesus, show me the way. Then I believe every step we take becomes like a wordless amen. So with this, I encourage you to spend some time listening to God's voice today. It's great that you've listened to me, but put this episode aside and go spend time with God Himself. There's an accompanying devotion-driven discipleship guide that goes along with this episode, and you can lean into that and it will guide you through seeking what God wants to say to you through the life of James, the disciple, as well as some of the scriptures that we've looked at in this episode. And then as you seek him in that devotion-driven discipleship guide, it's going to lead you into how you could potentially speak him into the life of someone that God has entrusted to you. Because when we meet with God, we always want to make him known. Oh, friend, James' story reminds us that following Jesus is a journey of transformation. James started out as one of the sons of thunder, bold, ambitious, fiery. But the longer he followed Jesus, his strength was shaped and turned into surrender. His pride became prayer. His passion became purpose. His life became his loudest amen. No, James didn't leave us words to quote, but he did leave us footsteps to follow. He prayed by walking with Jesus, by listening to his voice, by obeying, by laying everything down for him. And may the same be true for us. Oh friend, wherever you are today, whatever you're doing, wherever you're going, I challenge you, follow Jesus. Cry out to him right now in prayer. And then let every step you take for the rest of today be your amen. I'll see you in the next episode. Be encouraged.