lesson71

JAMES LESSON #71

READ James 5:15. The translation in the Greek reads, �the prayer of faith� � �heeuche tes pisteos.� �Pisteos� is the word for faith. This particular word for faith is interpreted �The prayer of THE faith.� There are two definite articles here � (two �the�s�) James is pointing out that this is a very specific prayer. It�s a �specific prayer� based on an anointing of �faith� that God gives to the person praying it. It�s a prayer for healing that�s based on a measure of faith that�s given to the person who�s praying it. It�s nothing that the particular individual who is in prayer �musters up.� It�s not about that person being �spiritual enough,� or �wise enough,� or �righteous enough..� � it�s all about God.

I could easily stand back and say � �But I DID have faith � and a lot of it � enough to fast and remain diligent in prayer for days� � True.. but faith in what? Faith in whom? Where was my faith positioned?

Kay refers to a little book entitled �Anointing With Prayer � Will Not God Heal Today?� by George D�Sena. This book outlines some specifics on �faith� that are helpful.

1) Faith is: �the capacity to believe.� Everybody has the �capacity to believe� � doesn�t necessarily have anything to do with God � when you move toward a chair to sit down, you �believe� that that chair will hold you up when you put your body there. (This kind of faith is seen in Luke 17:5)
2) Faith : can become a �life principle� - When we ask Jesus to be in �authority� over our lives, to position Himself in us to be Lord over all that we are and do, we�re basing the direction of our lives on what we believe � what we�ve �heard� � what we�ve been taught. (Galatians 2:20 and Galatians 3:23-25)
3) There is a �creedal faith� � You often see this in very liturgical services: �I believe in God the Father maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord who was conceived by the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontious Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried..and on and on. That�s the �Apostles Creed� � a short statement, developed to easily remember what we�re to hang on to.
4) There�s and �Intellectual Faith,� �We can have an intellectual faith without a personal commitment. There are many people who believe they are saved. There are many who ask � �Do you believe in Jesus Christ � was He raised from the dead- Was He born of a Virgin Mary� � you�ll get yes, and yes, and yes as a response. They fully �believe� in their �heads� � but there is no commitment to the truth and their lifestyles prove differently. James talks about that in James 2:19. �The demons believe that Jesus is God. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God.� They have no problem with that. They have at least got enough sense to tremble! This is also seen in John 2:22-25. The key elements missing in this kind of faith are �trust� and �acts�. (Example: Taking medicine when someone tells you it will make you well. If you trust them, you'll take it (acting on what you�ve heard) � if you don�t, you won�t.) It�s a faith that has �trust� and �acts� that demonstrate the reality of it�s existence.
5) Saving Living Spirit energized faith � You see this in Ephesians 2:8-9. The �grace� AND the �faith� are �not of yourselves.� God gives both of those. This is also seen in James 2:26.

What exactly �is� �saving faith?� A strong conviction. Look at Hebrews 11:1. Hebrews 11 is called the �faith� chapter. Faith is a �conviction.� When you look at this you see that there is an �intellectual agreement� without necessarily an �intellectual understanding.� READ through verse 3. Do you understand that? Do you understand how God did it? Can you explain to me how God �spoke� and brought the world into existence? No. Do you agree with it? Yes � but you don�t necessarily have intellectual understanding. It is an assurance of things hoped for � a conviction of things not seen. We didn�t see it. We weren�t there. We simply take God at His Word. In this kind of faith, the emotions may or may not be involved. Get this: Emotion has nothing to do with �faith.� Emotion does not change faith. Some people think � �Well, I didn�t get saved because I didn�t cry � or I really didn�t repent because I didn�t fall apart� - wrong- it�s about the heart. True faith may or may not encounter emotion: but it will always involve the �will.� Real faith leads to �commitment.� Commitment in what? Things hoped for � things you can not see � and a willingness to allow God to be God. James is talking about a prayer of faith that will restore the one who is sick.

There are two aspects of faith. Faith operates in two areas. There is a �broad� faith. I believe that God could have healed my friend. I believe that God could speak directly to the illness he encountered and send it away, leaving him totally healthy. I KNOW without question that God is capable of healing.

However, God did not give me a �specific faith� when I prayed for my friend � a faith that would let me walk out of his hospital room and say that without question of doubt he was going to be healed. James is talking about the �prayer of faith� here. A �specific� prayer that is born because God gives a �specific Word� that healing will be given. If the healing happens, the �specific Word� of faith was given � if it doesn�t, you�ve missed what God was saying.� �Faith� comes from �hearing� and �hearing� comes from the �Word of God.�

James 5:15-The prayer offered up in faith will restore the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up and �IF� � (this word in the Greek is a �third class condition� meaning � maybe he has sinned..maybe he hasn�t sinned- sometimes sin can cause sickness � you see it in I Corinthians -) � �if� he has committed sins they will be forgiven him. Why? Because his heart attitude will be right with God. He�s come to the elders. He�s asked them to pray. He asked that they anoint him and consecrate him to the Lord.

James 5:16 This is in the �present tense.� �Keep on� confessing your sins to one another. �Keep on� praying so that you may be healed.� The �effective prayer� of a righteous man accomplishes much. You need to walk in righteousness if God is to hear you. The righteous have God�s full attention. Read John 9:31. God tells us in Proverbs that God doesn�t hear our prayer unless we are willing to forsake our sins.

If I want my prayers answered I have to be : �Righteous� True, we are made righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ � but in so being, we are to �live and walk� in righteousness. In this picture is it our �righteousness� that makes our prayers �effective?� No no and more no. True prayer does not begin here on earth. It begins in the heart of God. The key in praying �effectively� is to tap into His heart cry. �God, I want to know your heart � your thoughts � your mind on this situation. I�ve tried every direction and I�m getting no where.� At that point, the Spirit of God begins to pray with and for us �according to the will of God.� When you see prayers answered, it�s because you�ve tapped into His heart cry.

It�s very important when you pray not to fall into �presumption.� What? Someone comes up to you and says, �I have a Word from God for you� � You need to be very careful not to place your faith in what people say before you make very very sure that God has really said it � lining it up with God�s Word.

James closes with Elijah. Why Elijah? Because James wants to point out that effective �prayer� doesn�t belong to Moses and the big boys. Elijah�s life was tormented with fear. He had a great big victory � immediately followed by grave threats from Queen Jezebel. God had just performed an extraordinary miracle � one little measly threat � Elijah takes off. READ James 5:17. How did Elijah come up with such a bold prayer? Elijah knew without question that God�s judgment was upon Israel � and in Deuteronomy God had said, �If you don�t walk in My way, and keep My commandments I am going to make the heavens as brass and your rain as dust. All Elijah did was simply �claim the scripture� � the judgment that had ALREADY been pronounced, and pronounced it to them. Praying scripture back to God is a very powerful tool. So many times we take our needs to God and tell Him how to handle them: �God I bring you so and so and desperately ask you to..and then we fill in the blank.� Who�s God in that prayer? Take the same need and pray scripture back to God: �God I bring you so and so and I�m depending on you to (Isaiah 41:10) strengthen him, help him, uphold him � I�m depending on you to (Proverbs 3:5-6) direct and guide him. I�m depending on you to (Psalm 46:1) protect and shield him. ---In praying scripture back to God, you�re placing your confidence in that situation in God�s Word, not in your own suggestions.

All the way through this book James has emphasized that a real faith is a faith that �HEARS and DOES� what God says. It operates on the basis of prayer � a heart totally �surrendered� to God�s authority in the situation : willing to receive a �specific� measure of faith for healing, and equally willing to allow God to say �No�-for a greater glory � that being, healing granted for all of eternity.

         This is the last lesson on the James series. I�ve been personally challenged through this study � and in closing, want to coin a phrase from Abraham Lincoln: one, that is the heart cry of James:

                     �I�m not so concerned that you have fallen..
                                       but that you rise.�

Know you are loved,
Be back with you in a few short weeks.

Robin
�Copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman