MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK SERIES
PRAY LIKE ELIJAH
JAMES 5:13-18
#JAMESatCCC
[INVOLVE KIDS: Call up kids and have them hold a sign. Read the Scripture and as you read walk behind the line of them and touch them on the shoulder. When you touch them on the shoulder, have them raise their sign above their head. The signs should read ‘pray’ ‘prayer’ ‘prayed, ‘7,’ ‘blank page’ and webdings of ‘cloud’ and ‘rain’… depending on number of kids. I used 10 kids.]
READ James 5:13-18
“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
James refers directly to a prayer of Elijah the prophet in the Old Testament, so let’s read about the prayer that James is directly referencing.
READ 1 Kings 18:41-45
“And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back." 44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'" 45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.”
PRAY WITH THE KIDS AND FOR THE KIDS
- School - Worries - Decision to be baptized
- Friendships - Understand God loves them
- Family Concerns - Each one growing in faith
This morning we are talking all about prayer. Prayer is communicating with the Creator of the Universe, but there is so much to think about when it comes to prayer.
ILLUSTRATION… SD Gordon, “Quiet Talks On Prayer,” 1910 Revell Company
I was reviewing things I have read about prayer and came across this quote from SD Gordon in his book “Quiet Talks about Prayer”:
“The greatest agency put into man's hands is prayer. To understand that, one needs to define prayer. And to define prayer adequately one must use the language of war. Peace language is not equal to the situation. The earth is in a state of war. It is being hotly besieged and so one must use war talk to grasp the facts with which prayer is concerned. Prayer from God's side is communication between Himself and His allies in the enemy's country. Prayer is not persuading God. It does not influence God's purpose. It is not winning Him over to our side; never that.
He is far more eager for what we are rightly eager for than we ever are. What there is of wrong and sin and suffering that pains you, pains Him far more. He knows more about it. He is more keenly sensitive to it than the most sensitive one of us. Whatever of heart yearning there may be that moves you to prayer is from Him. God takes the initiative in all prayer. It starts with Him. True prayer moves in a circle. It begins in the heart of God, sweeps down into a human heart upon the earth, so intersecting the circle of the earth, which is the battle-field of prayer, and then it goes back again to its starting point, having accomplished its purpose on the downward swing.”
We are talking about the downward swing of prayer this morning based on what James has to say to us and the example James gives us based on the life of the Prophet Elijah. What does James 5:13-18 tell us about prayer?
I. WE CAN PRAY FOR OURSELVES (VERSE 13)
Prayer is personal. I don’t know if anyone has ever told you, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with crying out to God for yourself… in fact you may have heard the opposite… that you should never pray for yourself. You can pray about you. There is an issue if you only pray about yourself, but praying to our Father in Heaven about our needs and wants is normal. If we are in trouble, we should pray. If we are happy, we should praise God in prayer. If we are sick, we should pray. If we have sinned, we should pray. James echoes the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 where he says, “pray continually.” In every situation and on every mountain and in every valley of our lives, our hearts should be in prayer to our Heavenly Father. Prayer is personal.
ILLUSTRATION… https://www.prayerleader.com/praying-for-yourself/ (adapted)
Praying for ourselves leads to two results:
First, asking in prayer cultivates gratitude in our hearts. We don’t say thank you to a vending machine, but we do say thank you to a generous person. Asking makes us aware of the giving Father and His generosity, and it makes us grateful to Him.
Second, asking and receiving from God Almighty fosters humility in our hearts. If we could live our Christian lives without God’s help, we would have lots of reason for pride because we do life all on our own. Of course we cannot, so we have to ask. Asking and receiving spiritual blessings puts us in the debt of our generous Father and moves us to give Him the credit for our spiritual well-being. Giving God the credit that He deserves is the very essence of humility!
II. WE CAN PRAY FOR OTHERS (VERSES 14-16)
Prayer is communal. There is absolutely nothing wrong with praying our hearts out before the Lord with others and for others. If we are in trouble, we should ask others to pray with us and for us that God would meet us in our trouble. If we are happy, we should praise God in prayer with others and share what God has done. If we are sick, we can ask others to come and pray for us in our suffering. If we have sinned, we can confess to others and pray with them that we would resist temptation next time.
Not only can we have prayers with other people, but we should be willing to pray for and with others should the request be made. Prayer is not only personal, but is also other-focused. We should be about praying for each other because life is hard. Church members should pray for church members. Pastors and elders and other leaders should be praying for church members and church members should pray for pastors and leaders. Members can call upon elders for special prayer if their heart and illness is overwhelming. James wants us praying for each other in all circumstances. Prayer is communal.
III. WE CAN PRAY IN FAITH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS (VERSE 15-16)
What does it mean in verse 15 when James says we should offer our prayer “in faith?”
What does it mean in verse 16 when James says we should pray in “righteousness?”
When we pray, we should pray with faith and with righteous intent because we serve a God can do anything. We should pray in faith that God will hear us. We should pray in faith that God will answer. More than that, we should want God’s will to prevail even if it’s not what we want… that is faith… that is a righteous attitude. God’s will for us will be far greater than what we are praying for… so pray for His will in faith… this is right.
ILLUSTRATION… SD Gordon, “Quiet Talks On Prayer,” 1910 Revell Company (adapted)
Prayer must be in faith. But please note that faith here is not believing that God can, but that He will in His will. It is kneeling and making the prayer, and then saying, "Father, I thank You for this; that it will be done, I thank You." Then it is rising and going about our day thinking, "that thing is settled." When we pray about it again and again, and repeating the prayer… it’s not because we don’t have faith, it is with the thanks that God hears us.
God can heal spiritual apathy.
God can heal a broken heart.
God can heal cancer.
God can heal depression, emotional distress, and grief.
God can change greed and selfishness.
God can change hatred and unforgiveness.
God can change injustice to justice.
God can change a loveless marriage into a love-filled marriage.
God can bless us with material wealth.
God can bless us with healthy parents and supportive siblings.
God can bless us with quiet times to rest.
God can bless us with spiritual support in the worst of times.
TRANSITION
James gives some thoughts about prayer and as he is writing those thoughts, a particular person and a particular prayer comes to his mind from the Old Testament. He thinks of the Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 18 which we already read.
IV. PRAYER EXAMPLE IN THE LIFE OF ELIJAH THE PROPHET (VERSES 17-18)
James gives us a real-life example when he mentions the prayers of Elijah.
We are told that the Prophet Elijah told King Ahab to go and party because he heard the sounds of “rushing rain.” It had been dry 100% for 3 years! So Ahab went up to eat and to drink and to celebrate the end of the drought.
Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed himself down on the ground and put his head between his knees. That is a pretty awkward position to pray, but that is what he did. We aren’t told why he prayed that way, but he did.
He prays and tells his servant to look. Nothing. Elijah prays. Nothing. Elijah prays. Nothing. On the seventh time the servant checked he saw a small cloud in the sky that would eventually grow into severe rain.
That is the Old Testament story James is referencing in chapter 5 about Elijah. James tells us that Elijah is just like us (verse 17), but this man had a powerful, faithful, righteous, and effective prayer life.
First, I could not help but notice the posture of Elijah has he prayed. He prayed with his head between his knees. I find that odd. That seems very uncomfortable and probably physically impossible for some of us. I think he did it as a way of trying to show humbleness before God and also as a way to focus himself as he prayed. His mind would not wander in that position for sure and would definitely concentrate on his prayers! May we pray in such a way that we are humble and focused!
Second, Elijah did not give up praying, but was persistent in prayer. He repeated his prayers and had his servant check 7 times. God could have made it rain all on His own, but earlier in 1 Kings, we see that God gives Elijah the power to stop the rain and to make it rain again. God chose to use Elijah. We also need to be persistent in prayer and obey Luke 18:1 which says we should “always pray and not give up” and Ephesians 6:18 which says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” May we be persistent in prayer!
Third, Elijah prayed specifically. Elijah prayed for rain. Elijah received the answer to his prayer which was… rain and lots of it. There is something about specific prayers that are powerful. Praying for ‘health’ is fine, but it would be more effective to specifically pray for good blood work and a good results for the heart scan. Praying for a ‘job’ is fine, but praying for a specific job is more effective. We can and should be specific in our prayers to God because our God can work specific miracles!
STORY ABOUT PRAYER (p)
At the end of last year, I was unemployed and was searching for the next place God would have me serve. It ended up being here, so we know God answered those prayers!
Anyway, at the end of last year our health insurance had to change so I changed it. I had one plan, but being unemployed I had to switch to a different plan. At the end of January, I received a bill from Blue Cross Blue Shield for around $6000 for premiums for the month of January.
Needless to say, my stomach was in knots. I called the insurance company and they said I owed them $6000 without much information. I went to the gym to work out and hopefully burn off some excess stress. When I got out of the gym, I sat in my truck and honestly was a bit of a mess. I prayed. I prayed specifically that God would take away the bill and give us insurance just until we would be able to move.
After I prayed, it occurred to me to call the Health Marketplace. I called and talked to Raven. I explained the situation and the fact that I had already called the insurance company which was no help. She looked up my information. Within 15 minutes, she had determined that Blue Cross Blue Shield had my family enrolled in 3 health plans and was charging us premiums for all 3 of them. After another 30 minutes, she had all the bills dismissed and informed me that there were several plans that would be affordable until I found a new ministry. By 5:09pm on January 11, God had answered my prayer and provided more than I could have imagined.
I posted this: https://twitter.com/TroyBorst/status/1083848689582518272
My God goes before me with a mighty arm and an outstretched hand. He is my Provider. He is The Cloud By Day and The Fire By Night. He never sleeps and always hears my prayers. He is Grace even though I sin.
I prayed specifically and God answered specifically. I felt so unworthy that God would provide in such a mighty way, but He did.
PASSAGE REVIEW
I’d like to re-read and review the passage from James 5:13-18, and when I read it, I want you to follow along and say the words that are highlighted in red. Just as a hint, it will be anytime the word ‘pray’ happens in the passage.
READ James 5:13-18
“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
INVITE PEOPLE FORWARD FOR A TIME OF PRAYER
OR
DIVIDE UP INTO THREES AND FOURS AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
CLOSE IN PRAYER
