This evening we will be turning to God's Word as we find it in the book of James, chapter 5, the very end of James, beginning at verse 13 down to the end of the chapter. And as you've found that, James 5, beginning at verse 13, please turn with me also to Lord's Day 45 in the back of your Psalter hymnals. Word's Day 45, we'll be considering the subject of prayer. We will first read God's Word and then we'll turn to the Catechism. James chapter 5, begin reading at verse 13 down to the end of the chapter, but focusing particularly on verses 13 through 18. This is God's holy word. Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 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. 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. 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. 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. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops 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 so far the reading of god's word and now as we turn to the catechism Lord's Day 45. We'll read all four of these questions. We'll read the question. We will recite the answer together. But again, we will focus not on the entire Lord's Day, but questions 116 and 117. So the first two questions. Question 116 asks, why do Christians need to pray. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking him for them. How does God want us to pray so that he will listen to us. First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God who has revealed himself in his word, asking for everything he has commanded us to ask for. Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in his majestic presence. Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation. Even though we do not deserve it, God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what he promised us in his word. What did God command us to pray for? Everything we need spiritually and physically as embraced in the prayer Christ our Lord himself taught us. What is this prayer? Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Let us first, once again, ask our God for blessing. Let us pray. Our merciful Heavenly Fathers, we come now to hear your word. We pray that you would speak to us. We thank you that you are a God who is not like the idols. You speak, and your word is powerful, and you hear our prayers. And, O Lord, we pray now that for Christ's sake, you would instruct us as to how you are pleased for us to pray to you. Speak, O Lord, for we, your servants, are listening. In Jesus' name, amen. dear people of god prayer is something very basic to the christian life can you imagine asking a christian to pray for you and to get the response sorry i just don't pray it's unimaginable and as we hear tonight what god has to say to us about prayer it's good for us to to ask ourselves now why do we pray our catechism of course in question answer 116 gives us this beautiful and true answer that prayer is the chief part of the thankfulness that god requires of us but there's something even more more amazing and even more basic to prayer prayer is a direct line of communication with god god has created us for fellowship with him so that we would hear him speak to us hear his voice and so that we can speak back to him and now because of jesus christ because he gave himself for our sins and and reconciled us to god we can now once again pray to our God we can speak to him again our catechism says that we can ask God for everything he has commanded us to ask and that means that we can pray to him and bring to him our troubles our worries that we shouldn't have our legitimate concerns and even our sins we can pray for everything and so let us hear then tonight how our God himself is calling and instructing us to pray and pray for one another effectively. Our God himself is instructing us to pray effectively. And tonight we will consider three main points from his word. First, what we are to do, we are to pray. And secondly, why we are to pray, because it works. And thirdly, how we are to pray, or to pray earnestly, like Elijah. So first, we think of what this passage is actually calling us to do, to pray. Now, much of our passage talks about praying for others. Elders pray for the sick person. Believers confess their struggles to one another and then pray for one another. But the very beginning talks about praying for ourselves. James is not telling us that we're to be selfish or that just about any prayer for ourselves will do. That's not the case. We can pray very selfishly with wrong motives. But James is saying that before we say to one another, before you say to someone else, let me pray for you, We need to say, I myself need prayer. We are responsible for our own hearts. We need to draw near to God in trouble. We need to praise him when we're happy. No one else can do it for us. The first exhortation that we find here in verse 13 is, Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. One of the wonderful things about this exhortation is that it's very general. If anyone's in trouble, he should pray. James doesn't specify in what kind of trouble you can pray to God, whether it's physical or emotional, or whether the trouble that you're in is your own fault or someone else's or really no one's. Any suffering, any trouble calls for prayer. Because these words are here, It means that you and I cannot assume that Christians will always naturally pray to God in their troubles. Just because we can, unfortunately, doesn't mean that we always do. Even Christians, just as James readers, when they're tempted, instead of turning to God, can fault God and say, God is tempting me. Or, again, when tempted or in trouble, we can grumble and complain. And James, again, has to tell his readers not to do that. And he tells them gently here, Brother, sister, when you are in trouble, take heed to yourself. Do not grumble, but draw near to God. Pray. Now, there are many examples of how we are to pray. Our catechism says that we must acknowledge to God our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in his majestic presence, in answer 117. Now consider, for instance, Psalm 38, which is saying from that psalm, David prayed in that psalm, O Lord, all my longing is before you, my sighing is not hidden from you. In a time of suffering, he acknowledged his need to God. And when his enemies were persecuting him, again, he knew his misery. And he, instead of keeping it to himself or trying to deal with the situation, he first prayed to God. He says, those who seek my life lay their snares against me. He's not complaining, but he's bringing his trouble to the Lord. And as again, we know that we're not supposed to hide anything from God. it's foolish, it makes no sense. David too humbled himself in God's presence and he prayed to God, my bones have no soundness because of my sin. It's not just his enemies that were his problem. Because of his own sin, he was suffering. But ultimately, you and I can only pray to God in our suffering because the only righteous sufferer prayed to God. And the only righteous sufferer suffered in our place, our Lord Jesus Christ. And when he suffered and bore our sins in his anguish, he also turned to the Psalms. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And as he was forsaken for us and in his trouble turned to God, Now you and I, in our distress, can also turn to God. But of course, James goes on. It's not all of our life is only trouble. God answers our cries to him in trouble. And James says, is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Again, our catechism captures this idea when it says that prayer is the chief part of thankfulness. And so when God has answered your cry, then praise him. But once again, we know that we believers don't always do that. Not only do we not turn to God in need, but we're even less likely to pray when things are going well. The immediate need is out of sight, and we just want to enjoy the good times. But take God out of your rejoicing. Forget the giver of every good and perfect gift and all our rejoicing, all our cheerfulness, all our happiness is only an inch deep. And when we're happy, when God has been good to us, James again is telling us, I'll turn to the Psalms and find examples there, find inspiration there for how you're to praise God. In fact, the very word that he's using for singing praise is the word from which we get the word psalm. and so when the lord has been good to you rejoice in your maker pray to god sing praise to him but now we're to pray for ourselves when we're in trouble when we're happy but james goes on and tells us that we're not just to pray for ourselves once we once we have we've recognized It's our duty that no one can do for us what we ought to do. Turn to the Lord and cry out to him. We can, and we ought to, pray for one another. God cares not just about our troubles, but about our sickness. And we can pray for others. And so he says, now in verse 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. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise him up. Now James is choosing a very dire situation in which we're supposed to pray for others. If you look at verse 14, that person is suffering from a debilitating sickness. He or she is in bed, cannot even go to the elders, and so the elders have to come to him or her. And the elders are to pray over the person as the person is lying in bed. And it says that what God is promising to do is to make this person well or to save this person and raise him up, which makes it sound like the person is near death. So it's a very, very dire situation. But it should be an encouragement for us that James picks such a dire example because that means that there is no circumstance, no situation when you and I cannot pray to the Lord. James is saying that in our troubles we're to pray, in our happiness we're to pray to God rather than do something else. It means that, well, who is then sovereign over your life? Is it this government? Is it your boss? Is it your enemies? No, it is the Lord. There is no time when we cannot turn to God. Both fruitful and lean years come from Him And if recently it has been rather lean than fruitful for you, then take verse 13 to heart. Is anyone in trouble? And let him pray. But now, why are we to pray? Is prayer going to accomplish anything? As some scoffers, I'm sure you've heard people say, well, it's about the most useless thing you can do, pray. Well, no, James is saying we are to pray because prayer works. That is now our second point. Prayer accomplishes much. And our catechism captures that when it says in question and answer 117 that God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what he promised in his word. And so let's look at the first promise that we're given here. verse 15 says the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well or save the sick person and the lord will raise him up now immediately we can be intimidated by this phrase the prayer of faith is that a prayer that only a few elite christians can pray not every believer can attain to this well it's nothing of the sort if you turn with me to james 1 6 james explains what it means to pray in faith. In verse 5, in chapter 1, he says that if any one of us lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. Verse 6, but when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. To pray in faith means simply to trust that God is able to work and not to doubt. It doesn't mean that we can have this perfect faith that is completely free of any kind of hesitation. We have every reason to have such faith, but we know that that's not the case here on earth. But it means not to say to God, oh well, what use is prayer, but I might as well just utter something. It means that we realize that we have no hope in ourselves. We have to cry out to God. That's what it means to pray in faith. For the elders to pray for the sick person, it means to believe the promise in verse 15 that God actually is the one who can make the sick person well and to raise them up. It means to pray in the Lord's name that God is acting through them, that weak though we are, God acts through our prayers. And finally, it means that we're to leave the ultimate result up to God. It means to pray with Jesus, who surely prayed in faith when he said, yet not my will, but yours be done. Now let's think for a little bit about this promise of what God is saying he will do for the sick person, that he will make him well and raise him up. There are many examples in the Bible of sick persons, sick people praying to God, And then God answering that prayer. Perhaps you remember the example of Hezekiah. King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20, we read that he became very ill, even at the point of death. He prayed to God. God answered his prayers and added 15 years to his life. But you know perfectly well, I'm sure, that that isn't always the case. Sometimes we pray for a sick person. The sickness doesn't go away, and the person may die from the disease. So is James then just engaging in wishful thinking? Is he just a really optimistic person? And on a real spiritual high, he wrote these words, but they were kind of unguarded. Well, now look again carefully at verse 15, at what the promise is saying. And the prayer of faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise him up. James is very masterfully saying two things in this promise. He says that God's faithfulness can very well be shown to a sick person in that God will make the person well and to raise him up from their sickbed. But James is saying even more. This word that the NIV here translates as make well usually simply means to save. I've already been saying this. He's saying literally that God will save that person. The prayer of faith will save that person and God will raise him up. That means that even when God's faithfulness is shown not in physical healing, it means that God will most definitely be faithful in raising that person up the last day with a glorious and corruptible body when there will be no more sickness and no more pain. Prayer for the sick, our prayer, is able to accomplish that when we put our trust in the Lord and know that our God will raise us up. A prayer is also effective not just because it brings healing, but because it brings forgiveness. In verse 15, we read that sometimes there is unconfessed sin involved in the sickness and then we have this promise that God will forgive. Now I'm saying, of course, that God forgives unconfessed sin because of the promise in Scripture that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once the sin has been confessed, we know that God forgives. God doesn't need to discipline us. It is dealt with. But now we shouldn't assume either that just because somebody is sick, But it's always because of sin. Remember Paul's thorn in the flesh? There's no indication anywhere that God sent him the thorn in his flesh. Some sort of physical ailment because Paul had to be disciplined for his sin. It was to teach Paul that even when we realize most acutely that we are weak, that God's strength is made perfect in weakness. And incidentally, that's what God always teaches us in our sickness. whatever the reason may be whatever else God is doing in our trials we're to draw near to God and to remember that he is strong when we are weak James says of course that if there is sin he says if he has sinned the person will be forgiven and that means that sometimes unconfessed sin is a cause of the disease James says that in that situation the most important thing for us to know is not physical healing but that there will actually be forgiveness friends if you and I are that sick person and we're laying in bed and as you are lying there and your sickness your disease leads you to think about how has my life gone is there something where I have not confessed to the Lord God will make it very clear to us James is assuming that it will be crystal clear if there is unconfessed sin involved and then it's a great comfort for us to know that there is no sin that God does not forgive if sin is involved God will forgive but then finally there are also less dramatic ways in which prayer works why it is that we can pray and have this hope that prayer will actually accomplish something. Look at verse 16. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. He's already told us, now pray for yourself so that God will answer your prayers whether you're in trouble or whether you're well and happy. Elders are to pray for a sick person. But now he says, all of you, pray for one another. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other because then you will be healed. He's not talking about this kind of confession where you say to somebody, I have sinned against you, please forgive me, but rather I'm struggling with such and such a sin. Please pray for me so that I can be delivered from this. And James is saying that all of us can do this. He's expecting that we're to pray for each other's sins. He says, all of you, do this. He's telling you here, people of this church, is there a sin that you're struggling with that you just can't seem to shake off? Well, find somebody whom you trust, who you know is a person who cares for you and who really wants to see you well and who loves the Lord. And ask a fellow brother or sister to pray for you so that you can be delivered from this sin. Because here we have this promise. We confess our sins and pray. We will be delivered. We will be healed. Now some of us, perhaps, especially the stronger types, might feel that, well, that's all good and well if you pray for somebody when they're struggling with sin. But, you know, it's actually a lot more useful to tell someone who is struggling with sin how they can say no to temptation. I used to have a book that says how to say no to a stubborn habit. That's what Christians really need. Just how do we say no? James knows that that's a temptation for us to think this way. And so he says that there is something else that we need to know about effective prayer. That the prayer of a righteous person is powerful. Now, what kind of righteousness is he talking about here that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful in what it accomplishes? Is he just speaking of sinlessness? Does that mean that only a few, once you've been perfected in this life? Well, no, he calls Abraham righteous in chapter 2, and yet we know that Abraham doubted God's promise. Abraham lied about his wife Sarah. So it's not that. But neither does it mean when he says that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful in what it accomplishes, it doesn't mean that it's a prayer of every single Christian. We might want to go that way. We'd be attractive and just say, well, righteous, that means justified in Jesus. And so, prayer of every Christian. James says just in verse 19, if one of you, he's addressing them as brothers. And he says, if one of you should wander from the truth. He says it's in contrast to that person who wanders from the truth, in contrast to a believer who for a time is rebellious and does not want to listen to God's word. It's in contrast to that that we're to understand what it means to be righteous. It means to know that we have no hope in ourselves, that Jesus is our righteousness. And it means like Abraham to try to live out that faith, not perfectly, But it means that we strive to put off our sin. See, it's not sinlessness once again. We're to realize that we are weak and we still stumble from time to time. But that imperfectly we try to live out our faith and we know that only the Lord is our righteousness. Only God has the strength to deliver us, to change us, to answer our prayers. And so if this is your hope, then this applies to you. Then that means that your prayers, imperfect though you are, but perfect though your Savior is, you can expect that God will answer your prayers. It's very similar, in fact, to what James has said, that the prayer of faith will save the sick person. It means simply crying out to God. Now, at this point, we've heard much instruction on how we're to pray, what we're to do in every situation. In trouble, pray. When happy, sing praise. What the elders are to do. James knows that as a very wise pastor, we will really be helped by an illustration. He says, a person who trusts in Jesus can expect that God will answer his or her prayers. He knows illustration will clinch the point. And so it's as if he stops now in verse 16, in verse 17 rather, when he brings in Elijah and he says, okay, true story about powerful prayer. Remember Elijah. Now I imagine a situation sometimes, I wonder if James was preaching this in a seminary class and he was telling us about how all of us can take comfort in prayer and that we should turn to the Lord. And he says, you're to pray. Now remember Elijah. Some seminarian might at the end of the sermon raise his hand and say, now that was a really poorly chosen illustration. You realize who Elijah is. He was a giant of faith. He prayed and then God did not send rain. There was a drought for three and a half years and then he prayed again. Now it's really not the kind of example that we need. But that's why James says that Elijah was just like us. It means that he had struggles just like us. We read that in the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 17, 18, Elijah could flee at a whiff of danger. He could despair and even get depressed. And at one point in 1 Kings 19, he prayed to God basically to the effect of, oh Lord, I'm no better than my fathers. Just kill me here. But there's something much more important about Elijah and the way that he is like us. He had struggles, but he knew that only God is God and that he is not that God. He is only a weak creature. He needs to cry out to the Lord. He turned to the Lord earnestly in prayer. Again, our catechism tells us that in our prayers, we are to groan inwardly. And look at how Elijah prayed in that famous story with the prophets of Baal so that God would consume the sacrifices. He prays to God in 1 Kings 18, and he says, 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 that these people will know that you, O Lord, are God. And so when Israel was worshiping Baal, and he knew that Israel was deserving God's discipline, he prayed that God would not send rain. And God answered his prayer. He turned to the Lord. And it worked. And then again, after three and a half years, We find him bowing to the Lord. We don't actually have a statement that Elijah prayed, but we have a beautiful description there. He is with his head bowed down, a posture of prayer. And again, God sent rain. Now, you and I are not prophets like Elijah. You and I do not get direct revelations from the Lord that nobody else receives. But remember what James says, that our God doesn't change like shifting shadows. You and I are not Elijah, but we have the same God as Elijah. Our catechism says in answer 117 that we're to pray to no other than the one true God. And so if our faith is in this God, then lean on him, cry out to him, praise him. When God has been good to you, when he's answered your requests and trust that this God can both bring healing and he will most certainly be faithful to us when we cry out to him and give us perfect bodies in heaven. And so throughout your life now, when you go home, perhaps some of us will still have dinner or maybe snack, but certainly will go to sleep tonight, pray to the Lord. Turn to him in the morning. When you pray at meals, remember that prayer is powerful because our God answers prayer. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious Lord, we are before you now and we realize that you are a great and mighty God whose word is powerful and we confess Lord that often times we know and feel that our words are weak but we thank you that through our Savior Jesus Christ you hear our prayers we thank you that he has reconciled us to you and so help every one of us here to not doubt but instead to cry out to you whatever our need may be and may we all the more not forget you when you have been good to us. May your people rejoice in you, their maker. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.