Prayer & the Righteous Person
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 (James 5.16).
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 (James 5.16).
Introduction
In a letter characterized by its emphasis on the practical aspects of Christian living, it is not surprising that James would stress the importance of prayer. While it was a common practice to close the New Testament letters with an admonition to pray (Romans 15.30-32; Ephesians 6.18-20; Philippians 4.6; Colossians 4.2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5.17, 25; Hebrews 13.18-19), James’ exhortation is even more emphatic than his contemporaries in that he devotes more space to how a believer’s life ought to be marked by prayer. It is not merely his closing comments where he stresses the importance of prayer. He opens his letter with the observation that believers are frequently confronted by a variety of temptations and difficulties. When such things happen the Christian ought to ask God with unwavering faith for wisdom (James 1.5, 6). He closes his letter as he opened it – with instructions about prayer. James posits three situations that ought to prompt the believer to pray. First, if a person is in trouble or suffering, then he ought to pray. Secondly, if he is happy about the good things the Lord has done, then let him sing a praise of thanksgiving to God. Finally, if he is sick to the point of being incapacitated, then let him call for the elders of the church and they will anoint him with oil and the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. While this latter point is not where I wish to focus my attention, a few comments may be beneficial as this text is sometimes a point of contention among Christians.
A brief excursus on gifts of healing
The issue of healing, more particularly, what is often referred to, as “the gift of healing,” is a point of disagreement among some Christian groups. I am not constrained by the text to believe that the “gifts of healings” (note the plural) spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12.9, 28 (cp. Galatians 3.5) refer to individuals who might properly be called healers. Rather, the Holy Spirit may at times impress upon different people “gifts of healings,” that is, a person may be constrained by the Spirit to pray for a particular person with an extraordinary expectant faith to see an individual healed. However, this does not mean that this believer should expect that God would customarily use him (or her) as the vehicle for dispensing healing to all those who are infirmed.
James does not say anything about “gifted” healers being given to the church. Rather, he merely says that when someone is sick he should call for the elders of the church to pray for him. James emphatically emphasizes that if a sick person is healed it is the power of God demonstrably at work in response to prayer. The healing is not uniformly rooted in the power of the elders as a class of people. But the elders do represent believers that are commonly recognized as righteous. This is James’ primary point: those who are righteous can expect to have an efficacy in prayer. This is not to say that the elders have an authority that is denied all believers – indeed, James would say exactly the opposite. The righteous man (dikaios), though masculine, is clearly generic and means any believer who has been redeemed through grace has access to this powerful weapon of prayer (cp. Douglas Moo, James, p. 247).
The order of prayer (james 5.13-14)
So then, the practice of prayer outlined by James is that the believer ought to pray for himself. James does not say that when one is in need that the first priority is to call for the leadership of the church. Of course, he does not preclude calling on others to pray, only that the first order of business is to pray for oneself. The believer’s standard operating procedure is to pray, whether in dire circumstances or in a happy place. But there is a point when it is expedient to call on others to intercede on his behalf. James identifies the elders as such a group of people who can be relied upon to intercede effectually: 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. 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. It appears that James has in mind an individual who is bedridden and unable to meet with the church when they gather for worship.
Considerable attention is focused on James’ instruction to anoint the sick with oil; however, the use of oil to anoint the sick is clearly secondary to the prayer of faith that accompanied it. Whether James envisioned the use of oil as medicinal or spiritual is not entirely clear. Whether James envisioned its use as medicinal, pastoral, sacramental or symbolic we cannot say for certain, but he attributes the resulting healing to the prayer of faith, not to the oil. “Lexicography does not, then, definitely rule in or out any of the four main options. But other factions suggest that James probably views the anointing as a physical action symbolizing consecration” (Moo, p. 241). By far the most common use for oil in Scripture was for its symbolic value.
James does not stop with the elders as intercessors. He encourages all believers to pray for one another: therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. Note that the text does not say that everyone the elders pray for will be healed. The elders are examples of righteous believers who may offer to God a “prayer of faith” (cp. Mark 11.23-24). It is the gift of faith that is being discussed by James (cp. 1 Corinthians 12.9; 13.2). The elders fulfill the role of shepherds for Christ’s church (Acts 10.17, 28; 1 Peter 5.1-2). Paul’s admonition to the elders at Ephesus was to care for the sheep (Acts 20). While this means administering the Word of grace, it also involved caring for them in a holistic manner.
A prayer of faith (james 5.15-16)
It is the prayer offered in faith that brings about healing (cp. James 1.6). It is not the faith of the afflicted of which James speaks but of those who pray for the sick. The question that naturally follows from this text is who is at fault if the sick person is not healed? Was it a lack of faith? Doug Moo’s comments are helpful.
Answering such a question involves us in the finely nuanced broader issue of the relationship between God’s sovereignty and our prayers. But we can say this much. The faith exercised in prayer is faith in the God who sovereignly accomplishes his will. When we pray, our faith recognizes, explicitly or implicitly, the overruling providential purposes of God. We may at times be given insight into that will, enabling us to pray with absolute confidence in God’s plan to answer as we ask. But surely these cases are rare — more rare even than our subjective, emotional desires would lead us to suspect. A prayer for healing, then, must usually be qualified by recognition that God’s will in the matter is supreme. And it is clear in the NT that God does not always will to heal the believer. Paul’s own prayer for his healing, offered three times, was not answered [though technically God answered Paul’s request with a no]; God had a purpose in allowing the “thorn in the flesh,” that “messenger of Satan,” to remain (2 Cor. 12:7–9). Note also 2 Timothy 4:20, where Paul mentions that he “left Trophimus sick in Miletus.” The faith with which we pray is always faith in the God whose will is supreme and best; only sometimes does this faith include assurance that a particular request is within that will. (Moo, p. 244)
It is not just the church leadership that is to pray for the sick. Everyone ought to pray for each another and prayer for the sick ought to be accompanied by the confession of sin. James does not give us the details of what he has in mind about confession; however, it is probable that he is thinking about those sins that have a deleterious effect on a person’s physical wellbeing. It does not appear that James means for the believer indiscriminately to confess all sorts of sins to anyone in the church who happens to be available. Indeed, this is the only place in Scripture where Christians are directed to confess their sins to one another. The idea conveyed by “confession” (exomologeo) is one of agreement with God that one’s sin is an offense against his majesty.
James’ concluding remarks on prayer drive home the point that the prayers of a righteous person are effectual (James 5.16b-18): The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed. The prayer of a “righteous person” (dikaios: though masculine it is clearly generic) has great power. The righteousness of the believer results from faith in Christ (cp. Romans 3.21-26). There are few biblical figures that are more legendary than Elijah. So while it is no surprise that James presents him as a model for prayer, it may shock some that he says that every believer has the same access to God is prayer as Elijah.
Elijah at carmel (james 5.17-18)
What greater encouragement to pray than to know that the spectacular events of Elijah’s life are accessible to every Christians? After three years of drought brought on by Elijah’s prayer, Ahab and his pagan prophets are summoned by this troubler of Israel to confront him at Carmel (1791 feet above the Mediterranean shore and near the Kishon river). Ahab’s alliance through marriage to Jezebel with a rival nation had increased international trade and helped to stabilize the economy. But Ahab had followed in the spiritual steps of his evil father Omri. He attempted to walk a line between the worship of the LORD God of hosts and pagan deities. Elijah challenged him: “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18.21).
The challenge of Elijah could not be refused: how could 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah refuse the challenge of one man without looking like fools? Elijah intended for the Israelites to understand that it was the LORD alone who is the true God (Deuteronomy 6.4). Of course, the prophets of Baal are trapped in a no win situation: for three years they have been beseeching their god for rain to no avail. If it should come now, they have obviously been malingering for the last three years and if it doesn't come they are put to shame before all Israel. They can only hope Elijah will fail as well. At the sun’s zenith, when their astrological god should have been at peak strength, nothing is happening. As a result, Elijah begins to mock and verbally torment his adversaries (cp. Psalm 2). When it is Elijah’s turn to offer a sacrifice, he makes an altar from 12 stones (representing the twelve tribes – in defiance of Ahab) and gives his offering a good soaking to dramatize the power of God. Then without fanfare Elijah prays. There is no rashness in his prayer, there is, as there has been, complete reliance upon the promises of God. When God commands action the believer can pray with full assurance that he will answer. It was a zeal for the name of God that provoked Elijah into action. The pattern for Elijah’s prayer is a common one: 1. He withdrew from the crowds to pray. 2. He assumed a posture of prayer. 3. His prayer was based on God’s promise. 4. He was fervent in his prayer. 5. He was alert for God’s answer to his prayer. 6. He prayed specifically.
In a letter characterized by its emphasis on the practical aspects of Christian living, it is not surprising that James would stress the importance of prayer. While it was a common practice to close the New Testament letters with an admonition to pray (Romans 15.30-32; Ephesians 6.18-20; Philippians 4.6; Colossians 4.2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5.17, 25; Hebrews 13.18-19), James’ exhortation is even more emphatic than his contemporaries in that he devotes more space to how a believer’s life ought to be marked by prayer. It is not merely his closing comments where he stresses the importance of prayer. He opens his letter with the observation that believers are frequently confronted by a variety of temptations and difficulties. When such things happen the Christian ought to ask God with unwavering faith for wisdom (James 1.5, 6). He closes his letter as he opened it – with instructions about prayer. James posits three situations that ought to prompt the believer to pray. First, if a person is in trouble or suffering, then he ought to pray. Secondly, if he is happy about the good things the Lord has done, then let him sing a praise of thanksgiving to God. Finally, if he is sick to the point of being incapacitated, then let him call for the elders of the church and they will anoint him with oil and the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. While this latter point is not where I wish to focus my attention, a few comments may be beneficial as this text is sometimes a point of contention among Christians.
A brief excursus on gifts of healing
The issue of healing, more particularly, what is often referred to, as “the gift of healing,” is a point of disagreement among some Christian groups. I am not constrained by the text to believe that the “gifts of healings” (note the plural) spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12.9, 28 (cp. Galatians 3.5) refer to individuals who might properly be called healers. Rather, the Holy Spirit may at times impress upon different people “gifts of healings,” that is, a person may be constrained by the Spirit to pray for a particular person with an extraordinary expectant faith to see an individual healed. However, this does not mean that this believer should expect that God would customarily use him (or her) as the vehicle for dispensing healing to all those who are infirmed.
James does not say anything about “gifted” healers being given to the church. Rather, he merely says that when someone is sick he should call for the elders of the church to pray for him. James emphatically emphasizes that if a sick person is healed it is the power of God demonstrably at work in response to prayer. The healing is not uniformly rooted in the power of the elders as a class of people. But the elders do represent believers that are commonly recognized as righteous. This is James’ primary point: those who are righteous can expect to have an efficacy in prayer. This is not to say that the elders have an authority that is denied all believers – indeed, James would say exactly the opposite. The righteous man (dikaios), though masculine, is clearly generic and means any believer who has been redeemed through grace has access to this powerful weapon of prayer (cp. Douglas Moo, James, p. 247).
The order of prayer (james 5.13-14)
So then, the practice of prayer outlined by James is that the believer ought to pray for himself. James does not say that when one is in need that the first priority is to call for the leadership of the church. Of course, he does not preclude calling on others to pray, only that the first order of business is to pray for oneself. The believer’s standard operating procedure is to pray, whether in dire circumstances or in a happy place. But there is a point when it is expedient to call on others to intercede on his behalf. James identifies the elders as such a group of people who can be relied upon to intercede effectually: 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. 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. It appears that James has in mind an individual who is bedridden and unable to meet with the church when they gather for worship.
Considerable attention is focused on James’ instruction to anoint the sick with oil; however, the use of oil to anoint the sick is clearly secondary to the prayer of faith that accompanied it. Whether James envisioned the use of oil as medicinal or spiritual is not entirely clear. Whether James envisioned its use as medicinal, pastoral, sacramental or symbolic we cannot say for certain, but he attributes the resulting healing to the prayer of faith, not to the oil. “Lexicography does not, then, definitely rule in or out any of the four main options. But other factions suggest that James probably views the anointing as a physical action symbolizing consecration” (Moo, p. 241). By far the most common use for oil in Scripture was for its symbolic value.
James does not stop with the elders as intercessors. He encourages all believers to pray for one another: therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. Note that the text does not say that everyone the elders pray for will be healed. The elders are examples of righteous believers who may offer to God a “prayer of faith” (cp. Mark 11.23-24). It is the gift of faith that is being discussed by James (cp. 1 Corinthians 12.9; 13.2). The elders fulfill the role of shepherds for Christ’s church (Acts 10.17, 28; 1 Peter 5.1-2). Paul’s admonition to the elders at Ephesus was to care for the sheep (Acts 20). While this means administering the Word of grace, it also involved caring for them in a holistic manner.
A prayer of faith (james 5.15-16)
It is the prayer offered in faith that brings about healing (cp. James 1.6). It is not the faith of the afflicted of which James speaks but of those who pray for the sick. The question that naturally follows from this text is who is at fault if the sick person is not healed? Was it a lack of faith? Doug Moo’s comments are helpful.
Answering such a question involves us in the finely nuanced broader issue of the relationship between God’s sovereignty and our prayers. But we can say this much. The faith exercised in prayer is faith in the God who sovereignly accomplishes his will. When we pray, our faith recognizes, explicitly or implicitly, the overruling providential purposes of God. We may at times be given insight into that will, enabling us to pray with absolute confidence in God’s plan to answer as we ask. But surely these cases are rare — more rare even than our subjective, emotional desires would lead us to suspect. A prayer for healing, then, must usually be qualified by recognition that God’s will in the matter is supreme. And it is clear in the NT that God does not always will to heal the believer. Paul’s own prayer for his healing, offered three times, was not answered [though technically God answered Paul’s request with a no]; God had a purpose in allowing the “thorn in the flesh,” that “messenger of Satan,” to remain (2 Cor. 12:7–9). Note also 2 Timothy 4:20, where Paul mentions that he “left Trophimus sick in Miletus.” The faith with which we pray is always faith in the God whose will is supreme and best; only sometimes does this faith include assurance that a particular request is within that will. (Moo, p. 244)
It is not just the church leadership that is to pray for the sick. Everyone ought to pray for each another and prayer for the sick ought to be accompanied by the confession of sin. James does not give us the details of what he has in mind about confession; however, it is probable that he is thinking about those sins that have a deleterious effect on a person’s physical wellbeing. It does not appear that James means for the believer indiscriminately to confess all sorts of sins to anyone in the church who happens to be available. Indeed, this is the only place in Scripture where Christians are directed to confess their sins to one another. The idea conveyed by “confession” (exomologeo) is one of agreement with God that one’s sin is an offense against his majesty.
James’ concluding remarks on prayer drive home the point that the prayers of a righteous person are effectual (James 5.16b-18): The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed. The prayer of a “righteous person” (dikaios: though masculine it is clearly generic) has great power. The righteousness of the believer results from faith in Christ (cp. Romans 3.21-26). There are few biblical figures that are more legendary than Elijah. So while it is no surprise that James presents him as a model for prayer, it may shock some that he says that every believer has the same access to God is prayer as Elijah.
Elijah at carmel (james 5.17-18)
What greater encouragement to pray than to know that the spectacular events of Elijah’s life are accessible to every Christians? After three years of drought brought on by Elijah’s prayer, Ahab and his pagan prophets are summoned by this troubler of Israel to confront him at Carmel (1791 feet above the Mediterranean shore and near the Kishon river). Ahab’s alliance through marriage to Jezebel with a rival nation had increased international trade and helped to stabilize the economy. But Ahab had followed in the spiritual steps of his evil father Omri. He attempted to walk a line between the worship of the LORD God of hosts and pagan deities. Elijah challenged him: “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18.21).
The challenge of Elijah could not be refused: how could 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah refuse the challenge of one man without looking like fools? Elijah intended for the Israelites to understand that it was the LORD alone who is the true God (Deuteronomy 6.4). Of course, the prophets of Baal are trapped in a no win situation: for three years they have been beseeching their god for rain to no avail. If it should come now, they have obviously been malingering for the last three years and if it doesn't come they are put to shame before all Israel. They can only hope Elijah will fail as well. At the sun’s zenith, when their astrological god should have been at peak strength, nothing is happening. As a result, Elijah begins to mock and verbally torment his adversaries (cp. Psalm 2). When it is Elijah’s turn to offer a sacrifice, he makes an altar from 12 stones (representing the twelve tribes – in defiance of Ahab) and gives his offering a good soaking to dramatize the power of God. Then without fanfare Elijah prays. There is no rashness in his prayer, there is, as there has been, complete reliance upon the promises of God. When God commands action the believer can pray with full assurance that he will answer. It was a zeal for the name of God that provoked Elijah into action. The pattern for Elijah’s prayer is a common one: 1. He withdrew from the crowds to pray. 2. He assumed a posture of prayer. 3. His prayer was based on God’s promise. 4. He was fervent in his prayer. 5. He was alert for God’s answer to his prayer. 6. He prayed specifically.