"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. 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" James 5:15-16

James speaking to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. The man James who wrote this book is the oldest half-brother of Christ Jesus and the brother of Jude, writer of the book of Jude. Speaking to believers, James encourages the followers of Jesus Christ that being faithful when you pray is effectual as the King James puts it and denotes “active powerful in action”. The Greek word for effectual is “energes” and we get energy from this word and we also get work from the same root. We as believers are actively with energy and hard work praying without ceasing for others in their times of suffering or sickness and rejoicing when they are being blessed.
Our faithful prayer to the Lord Jesus is effective towards one another and for one another. From verse 13 to 18, we have examples of this faithful praying, praying for the sick, those who are suffering and singing hymns faithfully when we are cheerful. We read in verse 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 must have faith in their petitions if the Lord is going to answer, and as well, the believer must call on the elders in faith knowing that the word of God is truth in what it says, the outcome is what the Lord God decides. Yet by our obedience and faithfulness to adhere to the word of God is in our favor to bring about God’s goodness.
So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you” Luke 17:6. Jesus speaking to His disciples tells them of the fig tree that did not bear any fruit and the Lord said “Let no fruit grow on you ever again” Mt 21:19. The disciples being perplexed, seeing how Jesus did this asked and Jesus answered saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt…” Mt 21:21. As a Christian who believes in Jesus and acknowledges that His word is the truth should never doubt that it is life to His soul. In this verse, Jesus Christ tells His disciples that if they had enough faith and did not doubt that they would be able to do the same to the fig tree. In addition, not just that but tell a mountain 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.
Jesus the Messiah and God knows what we are capable of if we would not just say we are Christians and believe in prayer but know it and understand it. Jesus goes on to say, "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” Mt 21:22. It is astonishing to know that God's answer is ‘yes’ to prayers that are prayed in the will of God, with all faith, belief and not a speck of doubt.
A righteous man (women) avails much, strong with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit prevailing in us to accomplish the will of the Father that Glory would come to the son Jesus Christ. That God would work His mighty power through our faithful prayers for the sick to be healed, not by our might or strength but by our obedience and faithfulness to love a one who is in need, and the Lord will raise him up, physically and mentally. The Lord tells us specifically to confess our trespasses (Trespasses, Gr. Paraptoma a lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness, a sin, misdeed) to one another and be in prayer for one another that we may be healed. Not just a physical healing but also a healing of the conscience and mind, that our guilt would not be cause for the enemy to suck us back into the sinful world. That we can forgive eachother and be in one accord and of the same mind toward eachother knowing that our Lord will forgive us and heal our pains. The Lord Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6 verse 14, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” He will give us rest, comfort and peace to withstand the evil of the world that so much wants to draw brothers and sisters in the Lord apart and bring divisions.
“And the prayer of faith will save the sick” we are not told this by Jesus because it is a lie but because it is truth and promise that we need to be in faithful prayer, believing that God is hearing us and believing without a doubt that He can accomplish anything that He wills to be done.
Here is God’s example to us in James chapter 5 verses 17 and 18 “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. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit”. Now this prayer was not done through selfish ambitions but by the will of God and it is why God answered Elijah’s prayer. We do not want to think that we are something special and that if we pray for something out of selfishness, out of vengeance, out of our anger or greediness that God is obligated to hear and do, quite the contrary.
To avail much, is to be at work praying, a fervent prayer. The Greek for fervent is “energeo” and means, “to be operative, be at work, put forth power as working for someone or aiding someone. So believer, believe in prayer and the power that is possesses because it is very real, it is needed to be done more by those who claim they are born again believers. Prayer is needed, can you imagine if all that claim to be followers of Jesus Christ were praying with all faithfulness, believing in what they are praying for, understanding what it means, never doubting for a second that God can answer and deliver what the world would be like, a much different place.
Well, may you go in peace and may you consider the free gift of Jesus Christ, His Grace extended to all, eternal salvation. Look at the world today and know that biblical settings are taking place for the return of Jesus the anointed one, the messiah.
May God Bless you and give you of His peace, Amen


Copyright? 2004-2006 GLPM ? All Rights Reserved ? Michael J. Martinez 07/31/06

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Published on: 2006-08-04 (12379 reads)