Prayer, Praise, and Patience

James concludes the book of James by dealing with three things: prayer, praise, and helping others who are struggling spiritually.

James 5:13a

Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray.

Trouble should move us to seek God in prayer.

Trouble is not caused by God, but it is used by Him.

God is not evil and does not tempt anyone with evil.

According to Romans 8:28, God uses everything we turn over to Him for our benefit.

God is loving enough and powerful enough to take all the “bad” stuff in our lives and, yes, even the bad stuff that is our fault, for our good and His glory.

Trouble should not lead us to worry, panic, or hopelessness. It should lead us to prayer.

James 5:14-15

Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

When we are sick, we are to pray. We are to call for reinforcements. We are to call the leaders of the church and they are to pray over the person.

We are to acknowledge the presence and role of the Holy Spirit in healing. The elders are to anoint with oil the one who is sick. Oil is not a magical potion. The oil represents the Holy Spirit. Healing, all healing, comes from the Holy Spirit.

When we have sinned, we are to pray.

We are to confess our sins. Confession means to agree with God. We are to agree with God that what we did or didn’t do is sin and then ask Him to forgive us. When we ask for forgiveness, God forgives. We don’t have to beg for it or convince God to forgive us. We just have to ask.

When we pray in faith, really believing God, He will answer. Again we don’t have to beg. God wants to answer our prayers.

James 5:16

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Followers of Jesus are to be authentic. We are to be honest, not gross, about our sin. When we are honest about our sin it allows others to be honest also. When we pretend we don’t sin we make God a liar, we don’t have fellowship with God, and we hinder others from being honest with God about their sin.

When righteous people, those who have been declared right with God, pray, God powerfully works through their prayers.

No, I don’t totally understand how God uses our prayers. I do know that God has given us tremendous power in prayer.

James 5:17-18

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

James uses the example of Elijah that God has given us regarding prayer.

Elijah, we are told, was an ordinary person just like you and me. He prayed at God’s command and it didn’t rain. He prayed a second time at the command of God and it rained.

The reason it rained is not because of Elijah, but because of God. Elijah was simply obeying God and God did the rest.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about seeking God in prayer.

James 5:13b

Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

Praise is:

Celebrating God

Giving Honor to God

Showing Gratitude to God

We praise God for who He is.

God is:

Love

Grace

Mercy

Joy

Peace

Hope

Righteousness

Holiness

Just

Faithful

Sovereign

We are to praise God for all these and the many more things that God is.

We praise God when things are going great.

We praise God when things are going ok.

We praise God when things are bad.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is praising God in every and all circumstances.

James 5:19-20

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

We are to love each other so much that we are willing to risk to help those who are struggling spiritually.

We are not to do that with an attitude of pride, condemnation, or with a judgmental spirit. We are to do it in love.

We are to do it with the same spirit Jesus had when He dealt with the woman who was brought to Him caught in adultery. He could have condemned her because she was guilty of what they were accusing her of. He didn’t! He told her to leave her life of sin after not condemning her.

We are to restore those who have wandered from the truth.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is in love restoring those who have moved away from God’s truth.

Some of the marks of being a follower of Jesus are seeking the Father in prayer, praising God in all circumstances, and loving others enough to risk reaching out to them.

In Prayer and Praise Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                                 Joe