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BIG IDEA:

THE EFFECTIVE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN CAN ACCOMPLISH MUCH

I. (:13-16) PRAYER OF FAITH OFFERED FOR THE SICK

A. :13) Pray Whenever You Experience Suffering

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.”

Contrast: “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.”

B. (:14) Ask For Prayer When You Experience Severe Sickness

1. The Occasion — “Is anyone among you sick?”

2. The Initiative — “Let him call for the elders of the church”

3. The Remedy

a. “let them pray over him”

b. “anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord”

Mitton: “The use of oil, both by the disciples of Jesus (Mark 6:13) and as recommended by James, was supplementary aid for awakening faith. The healing work is done by God’s Spirit, offered freely to man’s need and appropriated by faith, but material aids may sometimes prepare the way.”

C. (:15) Prayer Offered in Faith Works Like a Charm

“and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.”

Wiersbe: “But what is ‘the prayer of faith’ that heals the sick? The answer is in 1 John 5:14-15 — ‘And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.’ The ‘prayer of faith’ is a prayer offered when you know the will of God. The elders would seek the mind of God in the matter, and then pray according to his will.”

D. (:16a) Confession of Sins to One Another Must Accompany Intercessory Prayer for One Another (where appropriate)

1. Confession of Sins to One Another

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another”

2. Mutual Intercessory Prayer

“and pray for one another”

3. Goal

“so that you may be healed.”

E. (:16b) Theme:

“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

II. (:17-18) EXAMPLE OF ELIJAH

A. (:17) Elijah Was No Different Than Us

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”

B. (:18) Elijah Prayed and Got Results

1. Prayed for no rain

“and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months”

2. Prayed for rain

“And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit”

(:19-20) CLOSING GREETINGS — RESCUE THE PERISHING

A. (:19) Encouragement that Those Who Stray Can Be Rescued

“My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back”

B. (:20) Encouragement that the Benefits of Saving the Perishing are Enormous

“let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins”