Pray together, pray big!

James concludes his letter with an exhortation to pray:

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 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.

James 5: 13-18 (ESV)

James ends his letter with this endorsement - no matter the circumstances of life you are facing, pray. The best thing you can do for yourself and your situation is pray and get others to pray with you. James encourages you to not pray alone; If you’re ill, he says to ask the elders in the church to pray over you, he adds that you should ‘confess your sins’ to each other and pray, and he commends getting the 'righteous' to pray. Therefore, prayer is not a lonely battle, but one that should involve others. James is ending his letter showing that the christian life should be wrapped in prayer and should not be tackled alone. 

These times he mentions when prayer or praise are required, he assumes that you will be journeying with others. Life is not solitary, you are to include others in it. Even in the personal things such as sickness and sin. If you keep the troubles of your life to yourself, it is not only lonely but you might be missing out on the blessing of being anointed, forgiven and the effect of powerful prayer. You should not keep your pain, suffering, illness or sin secret. In fact, you are meant to share those things with others of faith so that they can uphold you, keep you accountable and they can celebrate with you. In the times of illness or distress, surely you want a ‘righteous person’ to pray for you? As James tells us that a righteous person’s prayers have great power and they work yet if you do not allow people to know your suffering, how can they pray, and who will you celebrate the breakthrough with? The life of a God-follower should be surrounded by other people of faith, that includes in the toughest of times. If you are suffering in some way today, do not do it alone, pick up the phone and ask someone you know is following God to pray for you - then see what God does with the prayers of the righteous in your life.

Elijah in this passage is mentioned as someone who powerfully prayed, but also as, ‘a man with a nature like ours’. That is pretty incredible when we consider the story of his life. James is showing here that even the great, powerful, spirit-filled men and women we read of in the Bible, like Elijah, were just men and women like you and I. Elijah was a man, a man that invested in his relationship with God. He was nothing special apart from the connection he had with God. Elijah dared to pray great, big prayers. He prayed for extremes of weather, and God heard and did it, he prayed for fire from heaven to consume his offering, and God did it, he prayed for a widow’s son who had died, and the son was restored to life. What are you praying for? Do you dare to pray such big prayers? Do you dare to pray for the impossible knowing that who you’re talking to has achieved some pretty impossible things already?! Elijah, remember is just like us. He was a man following and honouring God in his life, and he wasn’t afraid to ask for the incredible, impossible things because he knew just who he was speaking to. Are you a righteous person who prays big? Or are you someone that keeps things small? God can do more than you can ask for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), so why not pray BIG today and see what God can do?

Yes and No

If you are a determined disciple of Jesus, then the letter of James is helpful as it is very clear about how you should be living and speaking. In the verse we are considering today James continues his guidance on how you should speak;

my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. 

James 5:12 (ESV)

When James writes, ‘do not swear, either by heaven or earth', he is not referring to what we, today, usually consider ‘swearing’ - saying offensive words - I think James would take for granted that we should not be saying those types of things. Instead James here is teaching us about the integrity of our speech. 

James is instructing you to simply mean what you say. No more, no less. Do not confound people with language or give mixed messages, just be honest when you communicate. Make an effort to clearly get your message across and consider what you are agreeing to and what you are not. Do not give emotive in the moment responses, but be realistic about you can and will do. In so doing people will recognise that you are being honest in your communication and will learn to trust you. 

If you boast, show off, exaggerate or underplay things people will realise and will not be able to put much weight onto what you say because they are not sure how true it is. The same is true if you make promises or agreements to do something, and then fail to do it. Maybe you forget, get too busy, have no intention of doing something even though it seemed a good idea at the time, or what you said seemed to be what the person wanted to hear. Regardless of the reason, when you agree to do something you let people down when you don't do it. Then they will be less likely to rely and depend upon you in the future because they will feel that they cannot trust your words. If you know you are someone who lets people down by not measuring up to your words, James is instructing you to consider what you are saying yes and no to. 

It is important for you to realise that how you communicate can form people’s ideas of your character. People can discover if you are a person of integrity or not by how you communicate and what you are saying yes and no to. I wonder how you come across. What are you communicating about who you are in how you speak? 

When you carefully consider your ‘yes’ and ‘no’ you demonstrate trustworthiness and integrity. Don’t flit about, changing your mind all the time, or let people down because you have good intentions but poor organisation. If you know that’s you today, then do something about it. Learn to carefully consider your responses and be realistic about your capacity, availability, and your understanding. Get a diary if you need to, set a reminder, remember the busy-ness of your everyday life. Then you will be able to encourage and support others simply by honestly responding ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to what you can and will do. As a result you will grow in trustworthiness and integrity. 

It is a simple concept, just saying ‘yes’ and ‘no’, it is simple. Imagine if you were able to be open and honest in your communication, no bragging, exaggeration, emotive agreements, considering what you can commit to. Wouldn't that make life a bit easier? You wouldn't have to clarify or check up on things, you won't need to apologise for forgetting again, or not doing something again. How would that be for you and for the others you are in relationship with? Many people struggle with saying 'no' to things, but isn't it better to do that at first rather than letting people down?

It is important to consider your words because others’ will judge your character based on their experience of communication with you. If you profess to be someone who loves Jesus and follows God, what are you showing them about Him in how you communicate? 

What is sin?

  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. 

James 4:16–17 (ESV)

James here is telling us that sin is not just the things that you do that you know are wrong, but also not doing the things that you know are right. Have you ever considered that? 

Being apathetic, noncommittal or neglecting to do the right thing is just as sinful as doing something you know is wrong. Think about the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. I am sure most would say that the men who walked passed and did nothing were wrong. They did not show good character, kindness, faith or love by ignoring the plight of the injured man. The priest and levite walked passed, they were men of faith so they knew better. They would have read the scriptures and understood that God instructs them to love their neighbour, yet they still went their own way, ‘so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.’ Those two men were ignorant and they sinned by doing nothing. I doubt that the priest and levite considered that their lack of action was deliberately sinful. Maybe they were too busy, distracted or scared to help. However, did they know the right thing to do and fail to do it? 

It is easy to sin this way for all of us, no matter how much you love God and know His word. Have you ever not done what you know is right because you have been afraid, too busy, or not thought it was a big deal? If you have known the right thing to do and not done it, that is sin.  Just like we acknowledge that the levite and priest were wrong, it is wrong for you to overlook doing what you know is right too. I think we have all sinned in this way because it can be scary to do the right thing, or will take too much time, so we neglect to do it instead of being obedient to God. That is the reality. 

All sin is doing the opposite to what God wants. That is whether you knowingly do something you know is wrong or not doing what you know you should. It is so easy to sin isn’t it?!

The Bible tells us, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). So it should be no surprise if you realise that you have neglected to do right at times. James has not written this to condemn you, but quite possibly to wake you up to the reality that sin is easy to get into and so thank God for Jesus! Jesus has put to death all sin. The things you have done wrong and the things you should have done but haven’t - his death and resurrection cover all of it! This means that you can be restored to God and to the sin-free state God always intended you to be in. How incredible is that?! All you need do is recognise what Jesus has done, ask God for His forgiveness for when you have got it wrong, accept it, and then ask God for His Holy Spirit to empower you to do what you know is right in future. Sin may be easy to get into, but if you know Jesus has paid the cost for all of it, sin is also easy to be free from. Jam

Establish your heart

 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

James 5:7–11 (ESV)

Patience. 

Not something that we are very good at as the human race. We want what we want asap; fast food, quick fixes, buy now, pay later. People always seem to be in a rush for one thing or another. Yet patience is something that is appreciated and admired when we see it. Plus the Bible shows us that patience is essential to growing in good character, wisdom, faith and steadfastness.

James here opens with inviting us to be patient, 'until the coming of the Lord'. For most of us, this may seem like some far off date. Yet the disciples and apostles in scripture held it as an imminent reality. I think with the thousands of years that have passed since then we have become complacent. Yet, the day that Jesus returns is coming, and it is closer than ever before. Therefore there is no time like right now to start practicing patience in order to grow in faith, wisdom and steadfastness because one day you will be facing, 'the coming of the Lord.' That day is coming and is closer than ever before, so how are you preparing yourself for that moment?

‘be patient. Establish your hearts’ (v8). Are you patient with yourself? This may seem like an odd thing to consider in the light of Jesus' return, but in order to become ready for facing the Lord, you need to know what you are about and have set a foundation in your life that is rooted in Jesus. This requires you to be patiently developing yourself and establishing your heart on God. This takes time. It requires patience to build, learn and develop your life and your character. Are you patient with yourself? Are you allowing yourself time to develop good practices, to overcome, are you gracious and patient with yourself when  you know you have got things wrong or have doubts? Consider what you are establishing in your life. 

James invites you to establish your heart on the reality that Jesus will return. How are you preparing yourself for that day? James wants you to be ready. The day is definitely coming when you will meet God. There's no question of if that day is coming, it is when, so how are you preparing for that? What values, qualities and routines are you developing that will get you ready for being face-to-face with Jesus? Are you even doing anything about it, or have you got a bit lazy or apathetic in your faith and allowed other distractions to fill your mind, heart and time? If you had an interview with a prospective employer you would be preparing and practicing, so how are you getting yourself ready for the most important interview of your life with the Living God?

Establishing your heart takes time. Developing good character, overcoming sin, becoming wise and steadfast - they all take time. Therefore you need to be patient just like the farmer James talks about, waiting and tending the field even before he sees any sprouting of the seeds. Like a farmer, patiently continue taking care of yourself, put in the hard ground work with God and His people, and growth will come. Not overnight, but with sustained practice the virtues you seek will develop and establish. Keep patiently persevering. A farmer continues even when the ground is hard, the weather is disruptive and the field looks fruitless - the farmer keeps on the hard work because he knows a new season is coming and he wants to be ready for it. Are you getting ready for the new season that is opening up in your life?

James shows us that patience and steadfastness grow through suffering - it is a common theme through his letter. He doesn't shy away from the fact that life is hard and suffering comes. It takes time to get through it and to overcome the emotions and difficulties that suffering brings. If you haven’t learnt to be patient before suffering comes, then it becomes really hard to endure it! That is why it is so important to practice patience and establish your heart before God. Otherwise, when the next trial comes your faith can be rocked or lost because you have not built your faith on anything solid, as your heart is not established on the right thing, Jesus. 

Verses 10-11 are a wonderful reminder that faithful, obedient, patient God-honouring men and women suffer and they get through it. James reminds us of this by calling us to recall the prophets and Job who all had to undergo persecution, judgement, being ostracised as well as physical and emotional suffering. Yet they continued faithfully to live their lives, and now are admired for their faith and steadfastness - grown through patient endurance. The stories of the prophets and Job do not end with their suffering, but they demonstrate something of God's goodness, mercy and compassion as they see restoration and God's purposes and promises fulfilled. 

If today you are in a season of suffering, keep going. Be patient, with yourself and with whatever is going on. Keep persevering and developing the faith you have in order to gain the wisdom and steadfastness that James speaks about, then you too will come to see and experience the compassion and mercy of God.