The Book of James - 8
Prayer
We are going to continue to study the letter of James found in the New Testament by looking at what he has to say about prayer. All the New Testament writers pay great attention to the place of prayer in the Christian's life and James is no exception. Prayer has been called the Christian's "vital breath"; it is as necessary to our spiritual lives as breathing is to our bodies.
For example, James says that we should pray to God if we lack wisdom: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given him." By wisdom the Bible means the ability to see what is the good and right thing to do in any situation-to do what is pleasing to God. Have you ever thought of asking God for wisdom? Notice, he says God gives wisdom to all who ask providing we ask in faith expecting him to answer: "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. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." Yet the newest Christian as well as the oldest can ask for wisdom.
Is there something hard to figure out in your life? Perhaps it is a decision you have to make, or a problem about how to relate to certain people or situations. Pray about these things. Obviously you are going to have to do something about it yourself as well, but often it becomes clearer about what we should do after we have prayed about it. It's good to note that God is generous in his gift of wisdom to us and does not find fault with us simply because we are puzzled. He treats us as a good Father would treat his children.
This truth of God being our Father is underlined by James when he says that every good and perfect gift comes from One he calls the Father of heavenly lights, chapter 1 verse 17. God is the unchanging and unchangeable giver of the good things in life. By prayer we are able to give thanks to and for such a Father.
James says that when we are about to plan some activity, to do some business or to make some money we should pray about it top know God's will first. He writes: "Now listen, you who say, , Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money'. Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you sought to say ‘If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that'," chapter 4 verses 13-16. By prayer we can submit our plans to God.
James urges us to "come near to God and he will come near to us", chapter 4 verse 8. We come near by prayer. In prayer we turn our attention to our Father and we find that he is close to us.
In prayer, too, we humble ourselves before the Lord, chapter 4 verse 10. As we pray, we become conscious of our faults and sins and this gives us a true understanding of what we are really like. Much misery is created in our world by men and women failing to humble themselves before God. It is possible to pretend to pray like the man in Jesus' story who went into the Temple in order to tell God that he was not like other men or even a tax-collector who was praying nearby, but that he was a very good man indeed. But the tax-collector prayed a real prayer asking God to forgive him of his sins. Jesus said it was the humble tax-collector who went home in a right relationship to God and not the other man who tried to tell God how good he was.
Prayer made in faith can bring about the healing of someone who is ill. We have just seen that we ought to say 'If it is God's will, I will do this or that', so also, if we are ill, we should ask for the prayers of our friends and church elders for God's will to be done. Some people say that it always God's will to heal a sick person, but Paul said he prayed three times for God to heal him of an affliction and was not healed. Instead he learned the great truth that God's strength can be experienced in a deep way through our weaknesses. If our lives are right with God and we are sincerely following his ways, then wonderful things can happen as our wills become in tune with God's will. Prayer is to get to know God's will more fully.
James tells us that the Old Testament prophet Elijah prayed to God for a drought to come on the land, no rain for three years, and it was so. They he prayed for rain and the rain came in abundance. James says that God answers the prayer of a righteous person such as Elijah. He writes in chapter 5 verse 26: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” If our lives are right with God, then a power is set free from God that does good. We may not always see the good happening, often we will, but not always. Prayer enables us to see reality. Elijah prayed earnestly for a drought to be a wake up call to King Ahab who had turned his back on the Lord God. By prayer we get to know God and his will for us as individuals and as churches.
We have said that James’ Letter is very practical, it has to do with the way we should behave as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, so it is fitting that he should remind his readers of the power and importance of prayer.
Here are three thoughts from James worth remembering:
- "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault." 1 verse 5
- "Every good and perfect gift: is from above, from our unchanging Father"- 1 verse 17.
- "We ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will do this or that' ", 4 verse 15