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The Power of Prayer and Patience in James 5
September 10, 2025 · 14 min
Explore James Chapter 5's themes on patience, prayer, and God's promises amidst life's trials.
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The Power of Prayer and the Christian Walk 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Well, the sun has not yet come up over our nation's capital, but it will just as the mercies of the Lord are renewed each day. So walk in0:21 those mercies today. We are concluding our examination of a letter of James as we look at chapter 5 where James's final exhortation points us, I believe, to the most effective use of0:33 our words. What is it? Well, we're gonna look at that in a moment. First verse 16, confess your trespasses to 1 another and pray for 1 another that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer0:44 of a righteous man avails much. Alright. What we're gonna look at here in this final chapter, the rich, the patience to endure them, controlling the tongue, and the power of prayer. That's the focus of this0:56 final chapter. Now as with many passages, there is debate among scholars, regarding these first 6 verses and who exactly was James addressing. So let's read1:08 it. Verse 1. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded and their corrosion will be a1:20 witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasures in the last days. Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your field, which you kept back by fraud cry out, and the1:32 cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury. You have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter. You have1:44 condemned. You have murdered the just. He does not resist you. So is James talking to wealthy believers? Now if so, he's certainly not paving the way for a building fund1:56 campaign because he's just offended all of them. Most likely, as he here in this final chapter is addressing the rich for the fourth time in this letter. In this case, I believe he is speaking to the2:07 ungodly wealthy, whether or not they're gonna be reading this, but he's doing it for the benefit of everyone else. Now most of the early Christians were poor. They were not wealthy. The wealthy,2:20 as we read in these first 6 verses, as we have elsewhere, often exploited the poor and took advantage of them. But before I proceed, let me ask a question. What does the bible2:32 say about money? Is it good or bad? Well, it's neither. It's like, well, it's like my notebook here. If I were where is2:43 it? It's, this is where I keep my notes for my study. It's like this. It's a blank page. It's neutral. It's amoral. Now if I'm2:55 if I'm writing on this journey, my the the thoughts that I get, the questions I have, the the, the promptings of the holy spirit is it develops, my study each day, then I'm using3:07 it, for good. Now if I wrote a note on this and I handed it to a bank teller, saying give me all of your money, well, then it would be bad. So,3:19 of course, our journey through the scripture would come to an abrupt end as well. But so it it's not that money is bad itself. It's how it's gained and how it's used. I believe James3:32 was reading the riot act to the wealthy, not so much for their benefit, but for those that had been exploited and hurt by the rich. Look at verse 7. Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the3:44 coming of the lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the field, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and the latter rain. You also be patient.3:55 Establish your hearts for the coming of the lord is at hand. The justice of God will be established. Right? It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow, but it4:07 will be. It will be. While you walk in the challenges of the temporal, I think this is what James is saying to them, while you walk in the challenges of this temporal world, keep your eyes on the4:19 promises of the eternal. Now that's not to mean that we ignore what is happening, but we are bolstered and we have hope because this is not the end. Do not grumble against 1 another, brother,4:31 unless you be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. There's this sense of urgency. Alright? And I think we need to live with that urgency. My brethren, take the prophets4:43 who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed, we count them blessed to endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by4:54 the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. You know, Job, I believe, among many things, is a picture of the challenges that come in this fallen world by the enemy of our soul. But don't5:06 allow the obstacles of today to rob you of the hope based upon the blessing that comes on the other side of the trial. But above all, my brethren, do not5:18 swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no no lest you fall into judgment. Now this final5:30 chapter, you kinda see it, it kinda moves from 1 topic to the next as James brings this letter to a close. So the transitions from 1 subject to the next are sometimes rapid here. Again, like5:42 many passages, there are differing interpretations of this admonition about swearing. Some interpret interpreted this to say that to take you cannot take an oath in the name of God, period. That that, I believe,5:54 is not the message here. According to Matthew Henry, profane swearing was very customary among the Jewish people at this time. And I recall Peter. I remember when he was confronted about his association6:06 with Jesus the night that he was arrested. In fact, let me just read that. Matthew chapter 26 verse 69. Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard and a servant girl came to him saying, you also were with Jesus of Galilee,6:17 but he denied it before them all saying, I do not know what you6:32 Galilee. But again, he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And a little later, those who stood by came up and said to Peter, surely, you also are 1 of them, for your6:44 speech betrays you. Then he began to curse and swear saying, I do not know the man. Immediately, a rooster crowed. You see, our word should be our bond. We should not have6:56 to, swear by heaven or earth to emphasize our commitment, nor should we flippantly curse using the name of the lord or anything else that he has7:07 created. Ecclesiastes 5 2 says, do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before the lord, for god is in heaven and you on7:19 earth. Therefore, let your words be few. I think we need to be intentional with the words that we speak, and sometimes we just need not speak. Now in contrast, James closes out7:31 with what should be the use of our words, the the the most effective use of our words. Right? What is it? It's prayer. Verse 13. If anyone7:43 among you is anyone among you suffering, let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing Psalms. Both things incur it is prayer and praise. Okay? James is saying7:54 whether you're suffering or rejoicing or frankly anything in between, I believe he is communicating, look to the Lord and speak to him. Speak prayers. Speak speak praise. Our words8:07 should be to the Lord. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let him let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the8:18 sick and the Lord will raise him up, and and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Now what is James communicating here? Now the word anoint, used in8:30 this passage, alipho, which mean it means to rub oil, put oil on. The word anoint, used I mean, the same word we see, but it's a different Greek8:42 word used to indicate is. Now the meaning, I believe here, in James is is not just spiritual symbolism like anointing oil. I I8:54 think olive oil at that time was actually used for medicinal purposes. What James is saying, I believe, is that we need to pray in faith for healing, but at the same time using the practical9:06 application of healing agents. I believe that's what he's saying. I know some have interpreted the scripture just that, you know, we don't need medicine. We don't need doctors. I believe God has given us9:18 and revealed to to in fact, if you look at some of the greatest advancements in science, it has been through Christians that God has used. So, I I believe we need to pray the prayer of faith, but also9:30 use what god has given us. Verse 16, confess your trespasses to 1 another and pray for 1 another that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. There's9:42 a connection, as we've seen before, between sin and physical sickness. But this also speaks to spiritual wholeness, the healing of the sickness of the soul as we confess our sins and we9:53 become whole before God healed of the the the sickness of sin. Now, to make clear, prayer here is not an idle10:05 pastime or a placebo of the soul. James underscores here as he closes out the power, the real tangible power of prayer. Look at verse 17. Elijah was a man with a10:17 nature like ours. He was a human being. Right? He was a human. And he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for 3 years and 6 months.10:29 And he prayed again in the heaven, gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. Now that's the power of prayer. That's what we have available to us as we pray. Now these last 210:41 verses are connected to prayer, reminding us of the power of intercession and why we should be doing it. Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let10:53 him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. Often, as we've seen, sin leads to physical11:04 death. I don't think this is a discussion of losing salvation. I don't believe that can happen. I believe once someone is saved, they're saved. But what he's saying here is that our lives can end prematurely if we go11:16 down a path of sin. And so here's the closing thought, alright, as we think about the power of intercession and how we should be using our words. What11:28 if when we see or hear of a fellow Christian that has fallen or deviated from biblical truth, whether we know them personally or not, instead of reposting an article about what they may have done, we11:40 actually intercede for them. We begin to pray for them, asking the holy spirit to bring them back from error and put them onto a path of truth and fellowship with God. We need to be11:52 careful how we're using our words, and we need to use them effectively as we praise God and as we pray to him on behalf of ourselves and others. Father,12:04 thank you for this most practical book of James and the instruction that he gives us and how he leaves us in this letter with an admonition to pray, whether we're12:16 sick, whether we're rejoicing, that we pray and we praise you. And, Lord, the need to intercede for others to to bring those back from the path of error onto the path of12:28 truth. Lord, convict our hearts that, lord, we might walk in alignment with your word and pray, lord, as Elijah prayed, that our prayers would be so effective and so12:39 powerful that they would be tangible in their effect. Lead us by the power of the holy spirit to be your agents, to be your witnesses, to be, lord,12:53 the the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit and of the truth of your word in this age. We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks13:05 for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.13:12 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:24 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Power of Prayer and the Christian Walk94K followers
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