Originally, we were going to look at the closing verses of James 5 together as a whole, but after wanting to touch on some important topics and issues, I decided to break this apart due to time’s sake and space. So, while it is best to study this section as a whole, we will break it into two parts. Even after breaking it up, there is still a lot that we could discuss and go into great detail. But that is the beauty of the Bible as there is always more to study and learn. Part 1 can be found here.
Without much intro, let’s get started with our verses
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Key Takeaways:
- As we confess our sins, try to be as detailed as possible and not just give a generic confession. In this, we are acknowledging our appreciation for the breadth of His forgiveness. We are communicating with the only Person who knows our struggles, failings, and intents, but also who has the divine power to transform us into becoming more like Him.
- God hears the prayers of righteous people who pray with passion. Pray in strong faith to God both in times of trouble and in times of joy.
- Those who experience rescue from sin through faith in Jesus spend eternity in the presence of God. Pray for those close to you who do not believe in God.
Closer Look:
Verse 16: The conclusion is clear: “therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.” This confession is not necessarily between the sick person and the elders, though this is not ruled out altogether. Instead, this exhortation is intended for the sick person and any person with whom the sick one needs to be reconciled. A mutual concern for one another is the way to combat discouragement and downfall. The cure is in personal confession and prayerful concern. The healing (“that you may be healed”) is not bodily healing but healing of the soul (healing is the Greek word iathēte;[1] cf. Matt. 13:15; Heb. 12:13; 1 Peter 2:24). It is the powerful and effective (“working” in ESV)[2] prayer of a righteous person[3] that brings the needed cure from God. This relates to the closing two verses of James’ letter. If verses 14–16 refer to physical healing, then those verses seem disjointed with the verses before and after them.[4] This effective and powerful prayer phrase can mean either (1) prayer is effective when it is used or (2) effective (and fervent) prayer accomplishes great results. The illustration with Elijah may favor the latter meaning, because he prayed “fervently.”
Texts are important for what they include and do not include. In this verse, it is appropriate to name a sin and good practice to name the sin. Following David one might confess the personal suffering caused by an unspecified sin; indeed, how “sick” it had made the person (cf. Ps 51:8). When confessing sin, the sin does not need to be relived through the retelling. There should not be anything sensational about the mutual confessing of sin, nothing that feeds sinful desire (cf. 1:14). Confession should entail only humble acknowledgment of the act of sin and the joy of release from the offensiveness of those acts. Mutual confession leads to mutual prayer. The prayer of faith (cf. v. 15) is not exclusively a prerogative of the office of elder but is a shared responsibility among the members of the church. The believers are to intercede for one another, both in the greatest matter of ministry, that confession that appropriates forgiveness, and also in the great matter of healing sickness. This mutual intercession is a prime New Testament example of the evangelical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers (cf. 1 Pet 2:4–5).
James asserted the important relation between the virtue of righteousness and the quality of prayer for all believers. The essence of biblical righteousness is dependence upon God in all one’s dealings. To be righteous is to live a life centered upon the word of God.
The prayer of the righteous believer is both powerful and effective. These two terms have overlapping meaning, together connoting the potency of prayer to accomplish the purposes of God. Just as Jesus taught that His disciples would suffer for the sake of righteousness in fulfilling their prophetic task (cf. Matt 5:11–12), James called his audience to the same righteousness in the face of suffering. The reference to healing does not include a special gift (cf. 1 Cor 12:9); rather, healing is simply a part of the intercessory role to which believers are called. The question of the assurance of healing must be balanced with the will of God in each case. As C. Hodge wrote, “It cannot be supposed that God has subjected Himself in the government of the world, or in the dispensation of his gifts, to the shortsighted wisdom of men, by promising, without condition, to do whatever they ask. No rational man could wish this to be the case” (C. Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1940), 3:704).
Remember the condition expressed in 1 John 5:14 is everywhere else implied: “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” It was the divine will in Elijah’s case that drought and rain should be limited to a certain time (see vv. 17–18). This is also the case with every event of healing. The intercessor must trust the will of God.
Verse 17–18: James again gave an example well known to his Jewish audience. First, it was the prophets (v. 10), then Job (v. 11), and now Elijah. James identified Elijah as a fellow sufferer. A “man with a nature like us” could be translated “a man of like feeling” or “of similar suffering” (homoiopathēs; cf. kakopathei in vv. 10, 13). Elijah knew all the frailties of human nature he prayed earnestly or fervently, and rain was withheld and later restored (1 Kings 17:1; 18:41–46).
Let’s take a brief look at Elijah, whom James used as a model of effective prayer. In one sense, Elijah seems like an unlikely choice to be a model for ordinary people. After all, he was one of Israel’s greatest prophets. He took on the evil Ahab and Jezebel, brought a punishment of drought on the land, called down fire from heaven, and was translated to heaven in a whirlwind accompanied by fiery chariots (1 Kings 17-22, 2 Kings 1-2). On the surface it does not seem like we have much in common with such a person. How could our prayers possibly emulate his?
Yet James insists that “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” So apparently, he did not pray because he was a great person; perhaps he became a great person because he prayed. He was not perfect; in fact, right after his victory on Mt. Carmel, Elijah became afraid and discouraged and ran away. But he was a “righteous man,” that is, obedient to the Lord and trusting Him. God’s promises of answered prayer are for all His children, not just for ones we may call the spiritual elite.
James shows some reasons why Elijah’s prayer life was so effective: First, he prayed; one cannot be effective in prayer unless one prays in the first place. Second, he prayed fervently; he was aware of what he was praying, and kept praying with diligence and discipline. Third, he prayed an “effective” prayer; that is, he expected results. Fourth, he was a righteous person; he did not allow sin to cloud his conversation with God. Fifth and finally, he prayed specifically, first for a drought, then for rain, in accordance with God’s word (cf. Deut 28:12, 24); he prayed according to Scripture.
Elijah was a great prophet granted extraordinary results by God. Nevertheless, there is no reason why any believer today cannot pray using the same principles as he did. Imagine what God might do in our world if Christians begin praying like Elijah!
Verses 19-20 describe the significance of needs
Verses 19–20: James’ last appeal to his readers has a touch of tenderness and a clear note of encouragement to those who have helped others who have grown weary and have fallen from the way. These who have lost their way are the “sick ones” of the church family. They have wandered away. The Greek word here (planēthē) suggests one who has missed their path and is hopelessly lost. “Planet” was taken from this Greek word to convey the idea that the luminaries were “wandering stars” (cf. Jude 13), not “fixed” like the rest.[5]
While James did not specifically name prayer in these verses, the implication is there. If we pray for the afflicted and the sick, surely we must pray for the believer who wanders from the truth. Wandering ones need to be brought back to the fold. James referred here not to evangelism but to restoration. Revival, not redemption, is in view.[6] The rescue action is of great significance. A lost sheep is saved from destruction and their sins (the sins of the restored one, not the restorer) are covered as if a veil were thrown over them (cf. 1 Peter 4:8). These verses deal with our ministry to a fellow believer who strays or wanders from the truth and gets into sin. The wandering suggests a gradual moving away from the will of God. The Old Testament term for this is “backsliding.” Unfortunately, we see this disastrous journey occurring in our churches regularly. Sometimes a Christian is “overtaken in a fault” (Gal. 6:1); but usually the sin is the result of slow, gradual spiritual decline. Take this time to do a quick check on yourself. Is there something pulling you away from God. How is your life with Christ? Reflect and see if there is any subtle things happening in your life that is leading you away from God.
In the statement “wanders from the truth,” the truth means, of course, the Word of God. “Your word is truth” (Jn 17:17, ESV). Unless the believer stays close to the truth, they will start to drift away. “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (Heb. 2:1, NASB). Jesus warned Peter that Satan was at hand to tempt him, and Peter refused to believe the Word. He even argued with the Lord! When he should have been praying, Peter was sleeping. No wonder he denied three times.
The origin of the problem is wandering from the truth, while the outcome of this wandering is sin and possibly death. The death spoken of here is physical death (1:14, 15; 1 Cor 11:30; Acts 5:1-11). The covering of sins is an OT image for forgiveness (Ps 32:11). They can move ahead again on the path toward spiritual maturity.
Conclusion: James has given clear instructions about how to achieve practical holiness and spiritual maturity. His pointed exhortations were designed to stab the consciences and stir the souls of his beloved Jewish readers. Stand with confidence, serve with compassion, speak with care, submit with contrition, and share with concern. A believer should be what God wants them to be, do what God wants them to do, say what God wants them to say, sense what God wants them to sense, and share what God wants them to share. Spiritual maturity involves every aspect of life.
[1] Strong’s 2390. BDAG – “to deliver from a variety of ills or conditions that lie beyond physical maladies, restore, heal.”
[2] BDAG – “to put one’s capabilities into operation, work, be at work, be active, operate, be effective.”
[3] Also translated as: “The effective prayer of a righteous person has great power.”
[4] J. Ronald Blue, “James,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 834.
[5] J. Ronald Blue, “James,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 834.
[6] J. Ronald Blue, “James,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 834.