Encouragement to Powerful Prayer

James 5:17-18
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, September 28, 2014
Copyright © 2014, P. G. Mathew

In James 5:13–18, James, our Lord’s brother, is writing about prayer. Our God hears prayer (Ps. 65:2). Yet he does not hear the prayer of a sinner (Ps. 66:18; see also John 9:31).

In James 5:16, James makes the point that the prayer of a righteous man is very powerful in its effects. In the next verses, he illustrates this truth by citing the prayer life of Elijah. The New Testament refers to Elijah at least thirty times. Like Abraham, Elijah was justified by faith in the Messiah to come. Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration to discuss with Jesus about his atoning death, which Moses and the prophets had foretold.

In James 5:17–18, Pastor James, himself a man of prayer, is encouraging us to powerful prayer. We are to pray even as Elijah prayed. All believers are adopted children of God and therefore have a right to come to him and pray to him. Our prayers should consist of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication with specific requests, such as, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

Elijah the Man

First, James notes that Elijah was a righteous man. Elijah means “my God is Jehovah.” Elijah worshiped only the true and living covenant Lord. He hated Baal worship.

God raised up Elijah to prophesy the word of God to the Baal-worshiping Israelites of the northern kingdom in the ninth century BC. He represented a remnant of seven thousand who were faithful to Jehovah and the covenant. He was a wilderness dweller, clothed in garments of haircloth and a leather belt.

Elijah opposed all forms of idolatry vigorously. He opposed the wickedness of the Baal-worshiping Queen Jezebel and King Ahab. Because of their Baal worship, which is violation of the covenant, the Lord purposed to punish Israel with a severe famine.

Then suddenly Elijah, the Lord’s prophet, appeared before the wicked Ahab to inform him of the Lord’s decree to punish Ahab and his people. So we read, “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word’” (1 Kings 17:1).

James says that Elijah was a homoiopathês man, meaning “a man like us.” Elijah was not different from all true believers. He was like us, a sinner saved by grace. He was not a super-Christian. He was not a hero in piety. He was imperfect and sinned sometimes. Like us, he was an ordinary, average believer who lived by repentance and faith in the covenant Lord.

Later in 1 Kings, we read that Elijah thought that he was the only one faithful to the Lord (1 Kings 19:10). He was wrong. He became afraid when he heard the threat of Queen Jezebel to murder him within twenty-four hours. Failing to trust in the Lord to protect him, he ran in fear to the desert.

There in the desert, alone, he prayed for God to kill him. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life. Kill me! I am no better than my ancestors.” He was wallowing in his self-pity until God sent an angel to encourage him (see 1 Kings 19:3–9). So we see that Elijah was a man of the same limitations as all true believers. He was not the super-hero that Jesus ben Sirach presents him in his non-canonical book Ecclesiasticus, where he says: “Elijah, your miracles were marvelous. No one else can boast of such deeds!” (Ecclus. 48:4, Good News Translation). Elijah was a man like us in character. Yet he certainly lived in obedience to God.

James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, brings Elijah down to our level by saying that he was a homoiopathês man. Like us, Elijah was a sinner saved by grace. All that he achieved was accomplished by the grace of God only. There was nothing he could boast about.

James is telling us that Elijah was a righteous man like us; he was not a spiritual giant. He was like us in every respect. We are not to worship Elijah, but we are to imitate him, especially in his prayer life. James is exhorting us to pray like Elijah, that we also may experience mighty deliverance from the Lord. God will hear us and answer our prayers as he did the prayers of Elijah.

What about the apostles? They were also homoiopathês men, men like us. In Acts 10 we read that Cornelius began to worship Peter as he came in to Cornelius’ house. Note Peter’s response: “Peter made him get up. ‘Stand up,’ he said, ‘I am only a man myself’” (Acts 10:26). The people of Lystra wanted to worship Barnabas and Paul, thinking that they were the gods Zeus and Hermes. Paul replied similarly to them: “But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ‘Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you’” (Acts 14:14–15).

John was tempted to worship angels. So we read, “‘At this I fell at [the angel’s] feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!’” (Rev. 19:10). John was tempted to do the same thing in Revelation 22: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’” (Rev. 22:8–9).

By citing the example of Elijah, James is encouraging all of us to pray. As believers, we are justified and adopted sons and daughters of God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is adoption?” The answer is, “Adoption is an act of God’s free grace whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God” (WSC, Question 34). One of our rights is the right to come to God and pray.

We are sons of God; thus, we have access to our heavenly Father. John writes, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12–13). He also says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him” (1 John 3:1). Jesus taught us to pray: “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matt. 6:9). Paul tells us, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:15–17). Elsewhere he says, “For through [Jesus Christ] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18). So in Hebrews 4:16 we read, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 

Elijah Prayed Again and Again

In verse 17 James tells us that Elijah “prayed earnestly” (in the Greek, it is “prayed with prayer,” which is a Hebraism). Jesus used a similar expression in Luke 22:15, “I [desired with desire] to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” What Jesus meant was that he earnestly desired to eat with them. So also Elijah earnestly prayed. He did so many times, always with faith in God’s promises to him.

In 1 Kings 17:1, God had revealed to his prophet that he would punish Israel for their worship of the false god Baal. He would do so by not sending rain. In Luke 4:25 Jesus spoke of this: “I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.”

This drought was in response to Elijah’s prayer. It is true we cannot change the weather, for God alone is the author of weather. He gives rain and sunshine, fertility and drought. God alone can do it. In Acts 14:17 we read, “Yet [God] has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Our heavenly Father graciously gives good weather to the wicked and the righteous. Jesus himself exhorted his disciples, “[Your heavenly Father] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). When Elijah prophesied the drought, he did so at the command of God.

Our prayer should not be based on emotions or feelings; it should be based on the word of God. When we pray, we are turning the word of God back to him. We are simply saying, “You promised; please fulfill your promise. So we can pray, “You promised daily bread, so I am praying that you give us daily bread. You promised grace to me for do my work, so please give me grace.” Our prayer should be based on the word of God and the promises he has made.

God always keeps his promises. He is the truth; he cannot lie: “God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak and not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Num. 23:19). Paul tells us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 1:20)

Even as Elijah prayed earnestly, every ordinary child of God has a right to come to our heavenly Father in earnest prayer. In fact, that is what God wants us to do. Sadly, when we have too much money or we are enjoying good health, we tend not to pray.

The Bible teaches that we are to:

1. Pray without ceasing: “Pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17).
2. Pray in the Holy Spirit: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Eph. 6:18–20).
3. Pray with all our might. Paul tells us about the prayer of Epaphras: “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured” (Col. 4:12);
4. Pray with tears. The psalmist says, “I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears” (Ps. 6:6).
5. Pray with fasting. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:2–3; see also Acts 14:23).

 

 

So let us pray earnestly, encouraged by Elijah’s prayer. Let us pray the prayer of faith, the prayer of the righteous. Let us pray confessing sin, in Jesus’ name, based on the promises of God.

Our prayers effect supernatural results because, as John Calvin says, our prayers are based on the merits of Jesus Christ. Elijah prayed and there was no rain for over three years in Israel. The prayer of the righteous Elijah was very powerful in its supernatural effects. God heard his specific requests.

So Elijah, the man like us, influenced the weather of Israel through his earnest prayer. He thus demonstrated that the storm-god Baal, the most important deity in the Canaanite pantheon, was impotent. In fact, he showed that Baal was a lie.

God shut the heavens for over three years. There was no rain and, eventually, no food. God was punishing his covenant-breaking, idolatrous people. Then God removed his prophet and hid him in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, where the ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening (1 Kings 17:2–5).

When the brook dried up, the Lord sent Elijah to a poor widow of Zarephath in Sidon. When the widow’s only son became ill and died, Elijah prayed earnestly and cried out to the Lord. God heard his prayer, and the widow’s son lived, as we read: “Then [Elijah] cried out to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?’ Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’ The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived” (1 Kings 17:20–22). Here, again, Elijah’s prayer was powerful in its effects.

We read about Elijah praying again based on God’s promise to him in 1 Kings 18: “After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: ‘Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land’” (1 Kings 18:1). So Elijah went and met with the wicked Ahab, who called Elijah the troubler of Israel. But Elijah did not accept Ahab’s accusation. He put the blame where it belonged, telling Ahab, “You are the troubler of Israel. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed Baals” (see 1 Kings 18:18). We need more pastors like that, who will say, “You have sinned and you are being punished. But if you repent, God will show you mercy.”

Then Elijah challenged all the Baal worshipers to a demonstration of the power of Baal versus the power of Jehovah (v. 19). So we read, “Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing. Then Elijah said to them, ‘I am the only one of the LORD ’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.’ Then all the people said, ‘What you say is good’” (1 Kings 18:21-24).

Eight hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and Asherah failed in this demonstration. They prayed and prayed, but no fire consumed their sacrifices. Their gods were proved a lie.

Then Elijah prayed. First, he repaired the altar of the Lord with twelve stones. He dug a trench around the altar and filled it with water. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, laid it on the wood, and poured water on it. He prayed to the Lord, who had promised to end the drought and send rain. “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.’ Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!’” (1 Kings 18:36–39).

Every religion is false except the religion of Jesus Christ. We have freedom in this country to believe what we want, and we have freedom to go to hell.

God heard Elijah’s prayer. Fire came down and consumed the sacrifice and everything else. His prayer had a supernatural effect.

Then Elijah kept on praying; this time, he was praying for rain. So we read, “And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.’ So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. ‘Go and look toward the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and looked. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’” You see, he was praying. “So Elijah said, ‘Go and tell Ahab, “Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.”’ Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:40–46). Elijah arrived before Ahab because he was running by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God heard Elijah’s prayer and sent rain, not because of Elijah’s power and godliness, as Peter said about himself in Acts 3:11–12, but because of God’s faithfulness to his promise. (PGM) So heaven gave rain, and the earth produced her fruit for the people. Before, God had closed heaven in judgment in response to his prophet’s prayer. Now God opened heaven and poured out rain to bless the people in response to Elijah’s prayer.

Elijah prayed again in 1 Kings 19. This time, God did not hear his prayer. Fearful of Jezebel after she threatened to kill him, Elijah ran away into the desert. There he prayed, “Kill me. O Lord, kill me” (1 Kings 19:3–5). This was a sinful prayer, a prayer of unbelief. It was not a prayer powerful in its effects. So although Elijah prayed to resign from being a prophet and asked God to kill him, God did not accept this prayer. In fact, Elijah never died. It was God’s good pleasure to take him to heaven like Enoch, without ever tasting death. Thank God for some of our unanswered prayers!

Elijah prayed again in 2 Kings 1, when the wicked king Ahaziah sent a captain and his company to arrest him. In verse 10 we read, “Elijah answered the captain, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven.’” Fire did come down and burned up the captain and his fifty men. This prayer was heard, and all fifty-one men perished in the heavenly fire.

Ahaziah sent another captain and fifty men. Elijah prayed again: “If I am a man of God, . . . may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!’” And heaven brought fire and consumed these men also (2 Kings 1:12). Such is the effect of powerful prayer.

 

Jesus the Man of Prayer

Elijah is an example of powerful prayer, but Jesus is the example. Like us, Jesus was a man. But unlike us, he was God/man. Also, unlike us, he was a man without sin, as he himself said in John 8:46, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” The Hebrews writer says concerning him, “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Heb. 7:26).

Yet Jesus prayed daily. In Mark 1:35 we read, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed.” If the sinless God/man prayed, then we sinners should pray. We are the poorer and weaker when we don’t pray.

Jesus prayed before he went to the cross to offer himself as our atoning sacrifice, as we read, “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.’” Jeremiah 25 speaks about the cup that is full of God’s wrath against sinners. Jesus continued, “If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:36–39). Jesus had to drink the cup that was ours. Christ died forour sins. And the Hebrews writer says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Heb. 5:7).

Notice, Jesus “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears.” One way to pray is to pray with tears. Jesus, who knew no sin and was God/man, prayed with tears. If that is the case, how much greater is our need as sinners to pray.

Jesus also prayed for himself and for us in his high priestly prayer of John 17. Again, his prayer was heard.

Jesus prayed for sinners from the cross, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Even now in heaven as our great high priest, Jesus is praying for us. Paul writes, “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Rom. 8:34). We also read, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25). John says, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). Our Savior is always praying to the Father in behalf of us.

 

Jesus Commands Us to Pray

Why don’t we pray more? As we said before, too much money generally leads to less prayer. But God wants us to pray to him for our every need. Matthew 7:7–8 begins with the word “ask.” It is an imperative. The Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth is given, is commanding us to pray. “Ask and it will be given to you.” It is in the present tense, which means keep on asking. Then he says, “Seek.” It is another imperative, meaning we must keep on seeking, “and you will find.” Then he says, “Knock.” Again, it means to keep on knocking, “and the door will be opened to you.” Then Jesus concludes, “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matt. 7:7–8).

God hears our prayers. Therefore, we should pray. If we are children of God, we have been given the right and privilege to come to him in the name of Christ and pray.

Elsewhere Jesus said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:11). We are God’s children. When we ask him, he will open doors for us.

We are to pray in the name of Jesus, that is, based on the merits of our Redeemer who loved us and proved his love by dying for us on the cross. Jesus himself promised, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13–14). He also said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7).

Pray! I have prayed my entire life, and God has always helped me. We are defeated when we don’t pray. When we sin, it is because we did not pray and, therefore, we did not have grace to resist the temptation. Jesus spoke about this to his disciples: “On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation’” (Luke 22:40). Notice, he was not asking them to pray for him. He was saying, “Pray that you will not sin.” He later asked them, “‘Why are you sleeping? . . . Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation’” (Luke 22:46). Jesus was tempted, but he defeated the enemy. He was never defeated.

Why do we sin? We did not pray. And because we did not pray, we did not receive grace from God. We became weak and we sinned. And if we continue not praying, we will fall into the same sins over and over again.

When we are weary, we should pray more earnestly, as Jesus did: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

Abundant and sufficient grace will come to all humble praying saints of God. Paul writes, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you.” It is not a lot of money that we need; we need more grace. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). As we pray, we will receive grace and abound in obedience to God.

What if we are weak? Consider Paul’s words: “[God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor. 12:9). The grace God gives to his praying saints is sufficient to deal with any and every situation of our lives.

We may come to God in the name of Christ who died in our place. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Every day we face times of temptation and times of need. Therefore, we must pray.

We are a needy people. The world, the flesh, and the devil are against us every day. Only by grace can we defeat all our enemies. So we are to pray all the time.

 

Conclusion

If Elijah, a man like us, a sinner saved by grace, changed the weather of Israel two times for the glory of the Lord and for the utter defeat of Baal, and if he brought fire down to consume the sacrifice and to consume 102 servants of the idolater king Ahaziah, and if Jesus, who was unlike us, being the sinless son of God, prayed throughout his life to his Father, then we ought also to pray always to our heavenly Father so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our daily need.

We do not pray to the saints so that they may pray to Mary so that she may pray to Jesus in behalf of us. As God’s children, we have the right to pray to our Father by the merits of Jesus. We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Every one of us is given the right to come to our heavenly Father and pray. So we read, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9). This is true of every one of us.

Saints, be assured that our Father will hear our prayers and meet our every need by grace. Therefore, let us pray!