TEXT: James 5:13-18

SUBJECT: Exposition of James #11: Pray without Ceasing

The subject of this paragraph is prayer. It is mentioned seven times in the six verses and insinuated once or twice more. James would have us deeply devoted to prayer. He is not alone. Paul urges us to "pray without ceasing". And our Lord once spoke a parable to this end: "That men might always pray and not faint". If you read Christian history, you'll find the saints have not always agreed on every issue. But when it comes to prayer, there is no variation. On his death bed, William Carey was asked if he had any regrets. "Only one" was the reply: "I wish I had prayed more". Never has a man spoken more truly than he; nor so universally. We ought to pray more--and better-- than we do. May the Lord make us "willing in the day of His power". Amen.

The paragraph opens with a general statement, v.13: "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing Psalms".

Some believers are beset by problems. Of what kind, we don't know. Maybe health concerns. Maybe family crises. Maybe financial straits. Maybe something else. But whatever the problem may be, James knows what to do about it: "Let him pray". The present imperative means: "Keep on praying". D. Edmond Hiebert observes: "Instead of indulging in introspective self-pity or complaining loudly to others of this terrible situation, let him turn to God for refuge and strength".

This seems obvious in theory. But is it always put into practice? The last time something went wrong with you, were your first thoughts heavenward? When you lost your job? When you bounced your check? When your car broke down? When the tests came back positive? It is easier to cite the example of Job than to follow it. While his wife was cursing and his friends were sitting in stunned silence, he was praying:

"Naked came I from my mother's womb,

And naked shall I return there;

The LORD gave, the LORD has taken away;

Blessed be the name of the LORD".

In short, times of trouble ought to enrich our prayer lives. The Psalmist was on to something:

"From the end of the earth

I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to a rock that is higher than I".

But what of good times? "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms". I take the word "psalms" in the general sense of "spiritual songs". According to Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, these psalms are sung--not merely to occupy the mind or to entertain others--but to praise God. They're directed to Him. They too are prayers, often the most true and heartfelt of prayers. How to we display our elation? By smiling? Laughing? Dancing a jig? Nothing wrong with these things, of course. But let us not forget to raise hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God!

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD,

And to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High."

In times of good cheer, David would wake up his musical instruments to praise:

"Awake lute and harp!

I will awaken the dawn."

Whether his neighbors appreciated his early morning exuberance, we don't know. But the LORD liked it just fine. Of that we can be sure.

And so, "In every condition, in sickness and health, in poverty's vale and abounding in health" we're to "pray without ceasing". If anyone is "suffering" let him pray to "the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort". If anyone is "cheerful", let him look to "the Father of lights...from Whom comes "every good and perfect gift".

In vv.14-16, James descends to the particular. He offers a detailed plan on how to pray when physically ill: "Is any 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. 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, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much".

Sickness affords a special opportunity for prayer. It reminds us of our dependence on God, for example, which we're likely to forget when feeling robust. When ill, the first thing we're to do is to pray privately for healing or for the power to bear up under the stress. This is the teaching of v.13a: "Is any suffering, let him pray".

Sometimes, however, we need help in our prayers. We're to next turn to the "elders of the church". Some have taken the term "elders" for the men in the pastorate; others have understood it more generally, as the mature and sober-minded men in the church. The two don't contradict each other, of course, but I prefer the latter. Here's why: "Elder" had a definite meaning in Judaism. It stood for the older leading men in the synagogue. They weren't necessarily rabbis, but they were men of spiritual depth. James is writing to Jewish readers and is, therefore, likely using the term in its traditional sense.

Mature and spiritual men are to visit the ill person's sickbed. They are to "pray over him". What are they to pray for? They are to pray for his return to health. Is that all they're to do? No. They're also to "anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord".

What does this mean? Some have equated it with the Sacrament of Extreme Unction; others have identified it with Faith Healing. Each places a miraculous and healing quality in the oil. John Calvin did too, although he limited it to the Apostolic age. I prefer the common-sense interpretation. The "oil" is medicine. The Good Samaritan poured oil into the wounds of the waylaid man. Isaiah 1:6 assumes its medicinal qualities. Josephus says that Herod the Great resorted to oil during his last illness. Galen, a leading physician of the Second Century described it as "the best of all remedies". The medicine is to be used, but not trusted. It is to be given "in the name of the Lord". Every means for restoring health is to be used, but we're to look to Christ for healing.

"It is the LORD who heals you".

Some illnesses are the direct result of sin; they are chastisements. For their lack of brotherly love, an early church suffered much: "Many were weak, many were sick, and many were dead" (see I Corinthians 11:30). James knows some people are sick because of their sin. He is careful not to name them, because he doesn't know who they are. Neither do we. The friends of Job traced his woes to secret sins. They couldn't have been more wrong! Much of what they say is true, but it doesn't apply to Job. By insisting that it did, they became "Miserable comforters!" We mustn't be like them.

The Lord, however does know. If he brings a sin to the sick person's mind, it is quite proper he confess it to the elders, that he may be "forgiven" and "healed".

"Forgiven" and "healed" he will be, if he and the elders offer "the prayer of faith". What does this mean? Martyn Lloyd-Jones thinks it is a special prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit. I don't. I think it is an ordinary prayer offered in faith. Does this mean if the person remains sick, the prayer has lacked faith? No. Douglas Moo comments:

Our Lord's prayer life is instructive here. Did ever a man pray in more faith than He? Yet His absolute confidence in God's power did not lead to pressing demands upon Him: "If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me, nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done".

If the sick man's sin has affected others, he is to make things right with them, seek their forgiveness, and ask for their prayers too. This spirit of humility and brotherly love will evoke "effective, fervent prayers" which will "avail much". Nothing enfeebles prayer more than an impenitent or unforgiving heart. Break down before those you've wronged, freely forgive those who've done you wrong, and your prayers will "prevail with God and men".

To illustrate the power of a good man's prayer, Elijah is brought forward, vv.17-18: "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".

Elijah was not super-human. Yet this ordinary man prayed with a lasting enthusiasm. His prayers wrought wonders. So will ours--if we would but pray with his faith and energy and patience. I'm afraid we too often "have not because we ask not". If Elijah's prayers open and shut the heavens, then our prayers can lead to the spiritual and physical health of our ailing brothers and sisters in Christ. But only if we pray for them.

Who's up to the challenge of daily, deep, and believing prayer on behalf others? Nothing but sloth and unbelief prevent it. Nothing but good can come of it. It will do others good. It will do you good. Remember, both Job and his friends were healed when he prayed for them. "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends". God make us earnest in our intercessory prayers, for Christ's sake. Amen.