Effective Prayer (James 5:15-18)
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. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up – Recall that it is the prayer and not the oil that restores the sick brother. Of course, it is not even the prayer itself, but the Lord to whom we pray, that restores the sick brother. Prayer has no power in itself—its power lies in the might and the mercy of the omnipotent God to whom we pray. This is in sharp contrast to modern heresies which teach that abstract "faith" and abstract "prayer"—i.e. irrespective of who or what the "faith" is in, or to whom the "prayer" is directed—is what ultimately matters.

Notice that the prayer must be offered in faith—a canned "prayer" that is little more than a superstitious incantation is of no value…

Matthew 6:7-8 – And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

1. An earnest, fervent prayer of genuine concern and tender compassion for the sick brother—a genuine desire for his relief and recovery from the illness that besets him.
2. A humble request and not an arrogant demand—God is our Lord, not our servant. God should not be thought of as Aladdin's genie, who bows to our every request—prayer should not be thought of as a TV remote control by which we can press a button and get whatever we want. The root cause of all sin is the desire to be the master of our own lives—to be "in control" of our situation. This was Satan's sin (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:13-18), and Adam's sin (Genesis 3:6). It is the sin of Arminianism, and of the "Word of Faith" heresy.
3. Offered in utmost confidence in the omnipotent power of God. How often in scripture has He proven His ability to heal the sick and raise the dead? The One who spoke the vast universe into existence and created a perfect man from a pile of dust can surely heal any malady that may afflict us!
4. Offered in utmost confidence in the goodness and mercy of God—that He delights in giving good gifts to His children, and that He is often pleased to grant healing to those for whom it is asked.

Perhaps James is thinking of brothers who are suffering chastisement for unconfessed sin—"if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him". God does chastise those who are truly His…

 

Hebrews 12:6-8 – "… FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

1 Corinthians 11:28-32 – But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

Perhaps this promise belongs specifically to the early church, when the sign and healing ministry of the Holy Spirit was in full operation. At that time, people could receive healing by Peter's shadow falling upon them (Acts 5:15), or by handkerchiefs and aprons sent by Paul (Acts 19:11-12). This is reminiscent of some of the healings performed by our Lord (Mark 5:25-29; Luke 7:1-10).

God is no less powerful today than He was in James' day, but it is simply not God's will to manifest His power today in the overt way He did in the apostolic period. This claim is firmly documented by Biblical testimony. The New Testament gives us many examples of faithful Christians who did not receive miraculous healing…

 

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 – Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Philippians 2:26-27 – because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

2 Timothy 4:20 – Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.

Hebrews 6:4-4 – For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

1. Confessing to another the wrongs we have done to him.
2. Owning up to sins that are already publicly known.
3. Sharing with others our trials and weaknesses, so that they may pray for us or give us wise counsel.

"Gracious Father, we confess our utter sinfulness before you. We acknowledge that we often fail to do the good things you command us to do, and that we do instead the evil things you forbid us to do. Even our best and most noble efforts are but filthy rags in the sight of your resplendent holiness. Were we to trust in a righteousness of our own, we would most assuredly perish. We thank you, Father, that you are full of mercy and compassion toward us, and that it pleased you to bruise your own dearly-loved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to secure our redemption, and to provide us with that pure and perfect righteousness that your justice demands—a righteousness that resides in our Savior, and not in ourselves."

 

1 Corinthians 9:24 –Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

Hebrews 12:1 –Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Romans 15:1 –Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. – We should have great confidence in godly prayer, knowing that God does indeed hear and answer the prayers of His saints when those prayers are for things of eternal worth or daily necessity. The word "effective" is the Greek word energeo, which suggests fervent activity in prayer.

James speaks of "a righteous man". Obviously, he does not mean a person who is sinlessly perfect, for only the Lord Jesus Christ fits that description. Of course, God imputes Christ's righteousness to us, and in this sense, every Christian is "a righteous man". However, James seems to be speaking of a consistency of life here, and not of absolute righteousness. In our own lives, we fall far short of true righteousness, yet we know that there are times in our Christian walk when we are walking by the Spirit rather than living after the flesh (Galatians 5:16, 18, 25). It is those who walk by the Spirit that James seems to have in mind here, and this is true of every Christian at one time or another.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit. – James cites the prophet Elijah as an example of effectual prayer. Elijah's prayer resulted in a drought that last 3½ years! Then, when Elijah prayed for rain, the 3½ year drought ended! Surely, the Lord was listening to Elijah's prayers.

Yet, James tells us that "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours". We should not place Elijah on an exalted pedestal, as though he were more than a man. He was a man like us—with all the weaknesses, fears, doubts and failings that we experience—yet for all that, God heard him. If Elijah's prayers were heard in such a dramatic manner, then should we not have confidence that the Lord will likewise hear our prayers?

Notice that Elijah prayed earnestly. This is an important element of effective prayer. We should not merely recite our requests in a casual way, but we should have a great concern for the matters we bring before God's throne. Pray for things that really matter, and pray for them earnestly.

Restoring a Brother (James 5:19-20)
My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, 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.

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, – When a professing Christian falls into sin or unbelief, it could be evidence that he was never truly saved. Thus, when we restore a professing Christian, it may be that he was not formerly saved, or that he was saved, but had fallen into sin.

strays from the truth – This may be speaking of doctrinal error, but, given the practical nature of the epistle, James probably has in mind a brother (or false brother) who falls into open sin or unbelief. Certainly, the passage applies equally well to both moral and doctrinal error.

one turns him back – One of the great privileges we have as Christians is the opportunity to be used as an instrument of repentance—whether it be the salvation of a lost person, or the restoration of a brother.

Galatians 6:1 – Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

2 Timothy 2:25 – with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, – James speaks of the one who strays as "a sinner", and says that, by turning him back, we "will save his soul from death". We must remember that those who continue in sin without repenting of it are unsaved. They will die, not only physical death, but also the "second death" of being cast into eternal hell (Revelation 20:14; 21:8). What a glorious prospect, that we could be instrumental in saving a sinner's soul from eternal death in hell!

and will cover a multitude of sins. – When a sinner continues through his life without repentance, think of the awful wake of sin and destruction he leaves in his path! Think of the multiplied sins as others follow his example, or retaliate against the injury he has done to them. Think of how each of these secondary sins likewise gives birth to many more, multiplied sins. Or, just think how Adam's one sin has led to a world filled with sin and violence!

On the other hand, when a sinner repents, many of the sins he would have committed will never see the light of day. Likewise, the chain of sins each of those sins would have caused is averted. This gives us a second compelling reason why we should seek to turn the sinner from the error of his way.