THE POWER OF PRAYER
James 5:13-18
THE SOLUTION TO OUR CONDITION
V:13. " Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.
Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise."
A. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father making
intercessions for us.
1. We are
commanded to pray without ceasing.
2. There should
never be a time when we are not in prayer.
3. We have people
all around us that need our prayers to the Lord.
B. When trouble comes
our way, other may be in prayer for us.
1. The Lord expects
us to communicate with Him through prayer, not only for
others, but
also for ourselves.
2. Jesus is our
problem solver.
a. Whatever we
can't handle ourselves, God is there for us.
b. Our trouble,
is God's opportunity to be glorified.
c. God does
not promise us a life without trouble, but help in our trouble.
C. True joy, which is source of happiness
comes from the Lord.
1. Every good and perfect gift comes from
the Lord.
2. Jesus came that we might have His joy
in full.
3. Therefore, we should give Him praise
and sing songs unto the Lord.
4. We have so much to be thankful for. We
should praise the Lord in good times
and bad times.
a. The Lord is still good even in our
bad times.
b. It maybe that enduring our bad
times, is the way to God's blessings.
DON'T BE TO PROUD TO ASK FOR PRAYER
V:14. " Is any one 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."
A. Sickness is part
of living. We will have periods when our health is good and
periods when we will
become ill.
1. In times of
sickness, we should be quick to call on the name of Jesus for our
healing.
2. No one knows
our bodies like Jesus.
3. Our personal
prayer is important to the Lord.
4. Corporate
prayer among faithful believers is very powerful.
5. God commands us
to assemble together and pray for one another.
B. The one that is
sick is commanded to call faithful praying Christians, to pray with
him/her.
1. We should never
be too proud to ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for
us.
2. I really think
that it is a sad thing for a Christian to suffer by him/herself.
a. We are all
one body in Jesus Christ.
b. An illness
that affect one of us, affects all of us.
c. It is a
lack of faith for us to ignore God's command when it comes to illness.
d. If we shut
out the Church in our illness, we shut out the power of God's desire
for
corporate prayer.
e. Why limit
God in your illness?
f. God may be
waiting for you to be obedient to His command.
3. Perhaps your
illness will become someone's testimony.
PRAY BELIEVING YOU WILL RECIEVE AN ANSWER
V:15 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."
A. Take notice of this great promise from the Lord!!
1. The power of a
prayer offered in FAITH, will heal the sick.
2. Notice, the Lord didn't say if the doctor
gave approval.
3. Notice, the
verse didn't say, if the person who is sick had faith.
4. The verse said
that the prayers of saints offered in faith will heal the sick.
B. Notice, it is our prayers offered in faith that causes
God to act on behalf of the
one we are praying
for!!
1. Notice the text,
"The Lord Will Raise The Sick Up".
a. The Lord
didn't say He might, He said He will.
C. This verse indicates that some of our illnesses may be related
to our sins. Luke 5:20
1. Notice, this
verse states, that prayer of faith will result in the forgiveness of sin.
2. Did you know
that your prayers of faith will cause God to forgive someone else's
sin? Luke 5:20
SINS NOT CONFESSED BLOCK GOD'S HEALING
V: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."
A. Notice again, sins not confessed, blocks God's healing
power.
1. Notice again,
corporate prayer causes God blessings of healing to flow.
2. Notice again,
God commands us to assemble together, confessing our sins.
a. When there
is sin in the body of Christ, the whole body is ill.
b. The
Christian Church is a powerful body if we stand in unity.
B. Individually our
prayers are powerful.
1. United in
prayer, God is glorifies through His healing.
2. It is our job
to promote unity in the Church body.
3. We never know
when one of us will become sick and in need of the prayers of the
Church body.
AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW
V:17. " 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
a half years."
A. The Word is full of examples of the glory of God
manifested through prayer.
1. The Word is
full of examples where God used the prayers of men to accomplish
His will.
2. The Word was
put in print to encourage us to pray.
3. In prayer, we
rely on God to do what we can't do for ourselves.
B. God uses ordinary men to pray for miracles so that world
can see His glory.
1. Elijah the
prophet was an ordinary man like us that prayed for a miracle.
2. There are some
reasons why Elijah's prayers were effective.
a. He was
obedient to the Father.
b. He believed
the Word he heard from the Father.
c. He followed
the Fathers commands.
d. He was
faithful, even when he faced hardships doing the Father's work.
e. He allowed
the Word to be his guide for life.
V:18. " Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and
the earth produced its crops."
A. There are times
when following God's command leads to negative results.
1. Elijah prayed
and there was no rain for three years.
2. His prayer
caused hardships for the nation.
3. Whatever
hardships we face doing God's will is for our good and the good
those
affected.
B. Elijah prayed
again and it rained so crops could be produced.
1. We can't get
discouraged when our prayers don't turn out the way we would like.
2. There is a
season when we may endure hardships.
3. If we don't
faint, God will bring us through the hardships to a season of blessings.
a. All things
work to the good of those who love the Lord.
b. Hardships
make us appreciated the good times.
PRAISE GOD FOR THE POWER OF OUR PRAYERS
Rev. M. Mitchell,
Asst Pastor of GMBC
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