“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit” (Jam. 5:16-18). The second sentence of verse sixteen is an interesting one. After giving the charge to pray in the previous verses, he makes a clarifying statement of considerable proportions. He wants them to know that all righteous people, not only the elders and leaders of the church, have great power through prayer.
What a great comfort that is to us when we struggle with our prayer life – those times when we think what we are asking for is impossible, no matter how often we ask for it. Moreover, we should not think that quantity equals quality. Yes, the Bible instructs us to pray often in verses like 1Th 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, 17. pray without ceasing, 18. give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” and Col. 4:2, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” I am not disputing that, but words alone, no matter how frequent, don’t amount to much if they’re just empty ramblings.
Jesus addressed something of that nature in Mat. 6:7, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Whether it is one prayer or a thousand prayers of a hundred words, they must spring forth from a sincere place to be effective and have power. But, sadly, some prayers are not heard at all. Joh. 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” We know our Father listened to certain “sinners” like Cornelius, so clearly, He is not generalizing in the above verse. He is singling out those who are living in constant, willful sin.
When Jesus uttered the words, “…if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, God listens to Him,” He spoke of the righteous Christian individual. I freely admit that if I become angry with someone in another car or if someone cuts in front of me in a line, even if I do not visibly react, I struggle to feel worthy of God’s ears. At times like that, I feel so ashamed of my behavior that I find it hard to go to God in prayer. Of course, He listens, but I cannot imagine how I would feel if I lived licentiously and knew my prayers would not be answered. James continues in verses seventeen and eighteen with a vivid illustration of the power of prayer.
He begins by removing any mystery surrounding the man, Elijah, by stating that he was completely normal. He was not a superman with miraculous powers but a man with superhuman faith in the power of His God – the same kind of faith we all are capable of. Elijah prayed “fervently” and sincerely, and God heard him and granted him his request. Does that mean that anything we pray for frequently and sincerely enough will automatically be given to us? The answer to that is both “yes” and “no.” You see, God, in his infinite wisdom, knows what we need and will grant it if it is His will for us.
1Jo. 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” Even if our prayers are answered, they may not be exactly how we expected it or precisely when we wished it would happen. The point is this: if you want your prayers to be effective and powerful, be sure to walk in righteousness before God. Remember, prayer is always powerful; just because we may not see its power with our limited, finite brains does not mean it isn’t.
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