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The Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity
October 7, 2007
The Scriptures Teach Us About Prayer
 
TEXT:  NKJ James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
 
Last week we examined the Lord’s Prayer—today we continue with our discussion on prayer—and how we should pray—sometimes we have a friend who suffers and needs help—we pray for them—does it do any good?—what should we pray for?—how should we pray?—we begin our examination of God’s Word
 
The first thing we should understand is that prayer is to be persistent—Paul says pray continuously
 
NKJ 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
 
Jesus says be insistent and persistent—God will give what you ask—therefore keep asking—and it will be given—consider the lesson of Jesus
 
NKJ Luke 11:5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 'for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? 8 "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 9 " So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
 
Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him and for the saints—and he instructs them to be persistent in their prayer
 
NKJ Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints -- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
 
This is not the only place Paul asks for his fellow Christians to pray for him
 
NKJ 2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.
 
Notice that Paul is really asking for prayer for the work of the Church—not for his personal safety—but for the workers of God—that they may be spared from wicked men—Paul has such a sense of urgency concerning the spreading of the Word—he wants everyone to pray for the success of God’s workers—because Paul knows that God wants all men to be saved
 
NKJ 1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
 
Prayer brings comfort—strength—prayer brings help from God!—there are many examples of Old Testament prayers—and the Jews James is addressing would be familiar with these examples—and as we examine these examples—consider that each prayer is for the work of God and the glory of God—each individual wants to do God’s will—perhaps that is the lesson to learn today—pray for the things we need to do God’s work—and receive that which God promised
 
 
The Prayer of Abraham’s Servant Sent to Find a Wife for Isaac
 
NKJ Genesis 24:13 "Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 "Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink' -- let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master." 15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." 18 So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking."
 
Gideon Asked for a Sign on the Fleece
 
NKJ Judges 6:36 So Gideon said to God, "If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said -- 37 "look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said." 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew." 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.
 
Solomon’s Request for the Wisdom to Lead God’s People
 
NKJ 2 Chronicles 1:10 "Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?" 11 And God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life -- but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king -- 12 "wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like."
 
TEXT:  NKJ James 5:13 Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
 
Paul teaches the Ephesians a lesson on God-pleasing happiness—after quoting from the Prophet Isaiah, Paul offers this lesson
 
NKJ Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
 
What other times should we approach God in prayer?
 
TEXT: NKJ James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? 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.
 
The elders of the church were the first pastors of the early church—they were usually older, more experienced men
 
These words of the text indicate that we in the church are to be concerned with the body as well as the soul—James says the elder shall anoint the body with oil—and pray over the afflicted—we are also instructed by Paul to watch out for and pray for each other
 
NKJ Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
 
As for the anointing with oil—don’t make more of it than what is given to us—remember the story of the good Samaritan given to us by Jesus—he anointed the wounded man with oil and wine—this was a common practice to relieve the physical symptoms of the sick or injured—James is probably following the common practice of caring for the sick or hurt—Mark gives an example
 
NKJ Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
 
In the case of the apostles—the oil application appears to be more symbolical and loving than to act as a Scriptural healing agent—the oil in the text is intended to soothe the body
 
TEXT: NKJ James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
 
While the elder’s prayers bring comfort to the soul—leaving the outcome in the hands of God—it is clear here that the elders were not to be construed as some sort of “faith healers”—they laid the healing in the hands of the Lord—they themselves had no powers—it is the Word that has power—not the speaker of the Word
 
NKJ Luke 4:32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.
 
TEXT:  NKJ James 5:15…And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
 
The Lord will not withhold His healing—He will forgive and heal according to His promise and our faith—therefore our faith must be unfailing—look to God for your needs—and have faith that He will provide according to His promises
 
NKJ James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
 
TEXT:  NKJ James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
 
How did that righteous man obtain the status of being righteous?—it has nothing to do with that man—and everything to do with God’s mercy and grace—our faith comes from the Holy Spirit—and our faith fuels our prayers—therefore a righteous man is a man of faith—and his faith strengthens his prayer
 
NKJ Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ  9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
 
And since it is our faith that gives our prayer strength—more people praying with strong faith increases the strength of our petition—many praying give strength to the prayer
 
TEXT:  NKJ James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
 
James uses this example of Elijah—because the Jews were very familiar with everything about him—James wants everyone to realize that Elijah was a man—just as human as we are—the power of his prayer—was fueled by his faith—just as our prayers are fueled by our faith
 
When we pray—we ought to pray that God’s will be done—as we learned last week—one of the Bible stories I like to reflect upon is the story of Isaac’s son Jacob—Jacob had 12 sons—but only 2 were of his beloved Rachel—Joseph and Benjamin
 
It’s a familiar story—Joseph sold into slavery by his own brothers—Jacob is told he is dead—Joseph is wrongly accused—jailed—and rises to power—2nd in command in all of Egypt—do you think Joseph ever prayed during his times of trials?—from the cistern—from the jail—when he missed his dad?
 
Joseph was an exceptional man—blessed by God—grew to great wealth and power—and when it was time—God answered his prayers—but not until he had served his purpose—through the blessings of Joseph many in the world were saved—especially the nation of Israel
 
Reflecting upon this lesson should help us to adjust our prayer life—and as we pray we remember that our Lord knows what we need and what we are praying before—so long prayers with perfect grammar are not necessary—pray from your heart—and pray with confidence of promise
 
NKJ Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!