The Answer to

Our Pressures

James 5:13-20

If You Are In Trouble: Pray for Help vs. 13a

James 4:2 You do not have, because you do not ask God.

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

If You Are Cheerful: Praise Him vs. 13b

Hudson Taylor "Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength."

Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

If You Are Sick: Pray with the Elders vss. 14-15

Hebrews 12:3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

If You Are Sinning: Confess & Repent vs. 16

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

If You Are Sinning: Confess & Repent vs. 16

Dietrich Bonhoeffer “In Life Together”In confession the breakthrough to community takes place. Sin demand to have a man by himself. It withdraws him form the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person… In confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought into the light. The unexpressed must be openly spoken and acknowledged. All that is secret and hidden is made manifest. It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted.

If You Want Something: Ask For It vss. 17-18

Henri Nouwen “Prayer is a radical conversion for all our mental processes because in prayer we move away from ourselves, our worries, preoccupation, and self-gratification – and direct all that we recognize as ours to God in the simple trust that through his love all will be made new.”

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

If Others Are Distant: Pray for Their Return vss. 19-20

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.