This week, staff member Chrystie Cole answers this question from Gavin in Greer:
James 5:16 says “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.” What other Scriptures tie in well with this and how should we practice it?
This is a great question with a robust and complex answer, one lengthier than one blog post will allow. Within this verse, we see topics of confession, prayer, and healing, all of which could be blog posts all by themselves. So, keeping that in mind, let’s look first at this passage within context and then we will explore a broader application of it.
The word “therefore” in verse 16 indicates that James was in the midst of an argument and this statement was the climactic point within that argument. This should prompt us to go back further in the passage, tracing it back to the beginning at verse 13. So, let’s look at this passage in its entirety:
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. 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.” (vs. 13-16 ESV)
The first thing evident in this passage is that James exhorts believers to pray in all circumstances. When suffering, pray. When cheerful, praise - which is a form of prayer. When sick, call the elders to pray for you. These three statements indicate that a believer should center their heart, mind, and body in prayerful dependence upon God. As human beings, we are limited in knowledge and power, but our God is all-knowing and all-powerful. When we come to Him in prayer, we acknowledge our finiteness and declare our dependence upon Him. Prayer, before it is a petition, is a stance of the heart (Tim Keller sermon “Healing and Prayer”, series: James, A Faith that Comes Down to Earth). Our goal in prayer should be that of humbling ourselves, placing ourselves under His authority, and seeking to align our will with His will.
In our arrogance, we either neglect prayer altogether, attempting to run our own lives independent of God, or we twist it into nothing more than a list of selfish, self-centered petitions.
However, as a result of the fall and our sinful nature, we corrupt the purpose and intent of prayer. In chapter 4, James says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (vs. 2-3).” In our arrogance, we either neglect prayer altogether, attempting to run our own lives independent of God, or we twist it into nothing more than a list of selfish, self-centered petitions.
We learn from James that prayer should not be minimized to worldly desires and ambitions. Rather, we should come to know and understand that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (vs. 16), that prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well (vs. 15), and that through confessing sins to one another and praying for one another we may be healed (vs. 16).
These are bold statements about the power of prayer, and yet they do not stand alone, we do see other similar statements in Scripture. John tells us that if we ask anything according to God’s will He hears us and will give us whatever we ask for (1 John 5:13-15). Jesus states that if we have faith and do not doubt we can move mountains, and that whatever we ask for in prayer, we will receive (Matthew 21:21-22). And in Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that our Father in heaven longs to give us good gifts, so much so that everyone who asks receives (vs. 7-12).
There are many dangers that result from misunderstanding or misapplication of these passages on the power of prayer.
First, these passages do not give us a license to pray for and expect God to give us whatever we ask for in prayer. That would be arrogant and sinful. On the contrary, Psalm 66:18 reminds us that if we cherish sin in our hearts, the Lord will not listen to us.
God does not promise unconditional answers to prayer. Prayer is not meant to be a formulaic way of manipulating Him into giving us what we want, but rather a way of coming into His presence to have Him shape our desires. We lack vital knowledge; we do not know what will lead to the ultimate good for us or for others. We must also admit that our desires are all too often shaped by this world and if God were to give us what we wanted, it would be to our detriment (Romans 1:21-32). God does not withhold our desires out of cruelty, but out of His great mercy. And in His mercy, He gives us what we would ask for if we knew what He knows (Tim Keller sermon “Healing and Prayer”, series: James, A Faith that Comes Down to Earth). When God is our delight, when He and His will are our foremost desire, He will give us the desire of our hearts (Ps. 37:4).
Secondly, there is danger here in thinking that healing is dependent upon our own righteousness, the quality of our faith, or the quality of our prayer. If that were so, we would be tempted to feel prideful when our prayers for healing are answered or despairing when they are not. On the contrary, it is all about God’s sovereignty. He will do as He pleases (Ps. 115:3) – and that will be whatever is for our greatest good and His glory (Romans 8:28-39). We would do well to remember here that Jesus, who had perfect faith and is the only one who is truly righteous, did not receive the answer to His prayer in Gethsemane (Tim Keller sermon “Healing and Prayer”, series: James, A Faith that Comes Down to Earth).
It is all about God’s sovereignty. He will do as He pleases – and that will be whatever is for our greatest good and His glory
So, what is the practical application of all of this?
First, prayer should be a regular part of our lives, in every circumstance, in every situation. Second, we need to be in authentic biblical community with one another, confessing sin and praying for one another. Third, we need to remember that prayer is powerful and effective and that through Jesus we are able to boldly approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find help in time of need (Heb. 4:14-16).
Finally, we must learn to rest, even rejoice, in the sovereignty of God. We, and those we love, may suffer much on this side of heaven and God may not bring about the healing we desire and for which we fervently pray. In those times, we can humble ourselves before Him, trusting in His goodness, faithfulness, and sovereignty, casting all our cares on Him. Our hope in times of suffering is that the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory in Christ, after we have suffered a little while, will Himself restore us, and make us strong, firm, and steadfast (1 Peter 5:6-11)