I asked two members of our class, James and Ellen, to comment on James' words about prayer recorded in James 5:16-18.
"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. 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. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." (James 5:16-18 NIV)
Here's what our classmate James has to say about what Jesus' brother James wrote:
"Prayer is talking to God one on one. You know that he can hear you because you are praying to him which makes you feel better because you know he is listening. God can do anything. This shows one of the amazing things God did when someone prayed to him."
I want you to stop for a minute and consider both sets of words -- from James and from James. Good stuff, huh? Now I'm going to add some more good stuff to this by adding Ellen's comments on this passage:
"‘Elijah was a man just like us.’ He wasn’t so much different from us, and yet he prayed and it didn’t rain for three and a half years! God can do so much more when we pray than we realize. In The Message version, verse 16 says, “The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.” Elijah was living right with God, and God blessed his prayers. This encourages us as Christians that if we are living as God calls us to, we will experience powerfully answered prayer."
Okay, stop again, and consider what Ellen has added to our thoughts about prayer. This is exactly the kind of interaction we should have with God's Word as we read through it. I'm confident that you are all doing that, but I thought you would be encouraged by these thoughts from these younger members of our class.
I sure am.
2 comments:
One of the benefits of this 5x5x5 NT Read Through, is that the order in which we're reading the books helps us see patterns and connections that we may not have seen before. I was struck as we read through James by three areas that he emphasizes, that were also highly visible in Galatians and Hebrews. All three letters have something to say about money and status, loving one another, and expressing that love in very practical ways.
No surprise, really, that these areas of our life are commented on in the letters, and certainly nothing profound in seeing them in all three letters. But my new perspective is that these are overwhelmingly important, if they have surfaced so naturally from our speed read through the New Testament. I'm just going to throw some verses at you now, and then make a couple of observations afterward. All quotes are from the NIV translation.
Money and status.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (Gal 6:3)
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. (James 1:9-10)
Love.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. (James 2:8)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Gal. 5:13-14)
Putting love to work.
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:16)
Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Hebrews 13:1-3)
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (Gal. 2:10)
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal. 6:9-10)
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:15-17)
If anyone is still reading this lengthy comment, I'd like to add this observation. I'm not convinced we take these admonitions seriously enough as Christians. Do we really think these practices are essential? The letter writers say they are the practical consequence of our faith. Do we live that way? Does our church set its priorities that way? Go back and read those verses again. What effect will they have in your life today? I look at my own life, and I see that there's work to be done. I look at the churches in America, and ours in particular, and I see that we don't take these practical considerations nearly as seriously as James, Paul, and the writer of Hebrews did.
This is just a great posting and comments. It really challenges me to think about how all these concerns are tied together and should be part of the normal consequences of a life lived in faith. Praise the Lord for this study and for those who are getting deeper into God's Word.
Post a Comment