Thought On This Chapter
JAS 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we
are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the
earth by the space of three years and six months.
JAS 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain,
and the earth brought forth her fruit.
The man of God prayed for it to not rain, and it did
not rain for 3 1/2 years. He prayed again and it rained once again.
This man had power in prayer. He experienced first hand that the effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. He was a great man of
God, and yet he was just a man. He had a sin nature just like we do.
He was, "a man subject to like passions as we are". He had dreams, he had
emotions, he had people he loved, and those who tried his patience. There
were times when he was fearless and there were times when he feared. After
his great victory, he ran from Ahab and his wicked wife. He was very
confident against the false prophets. His heart was on fire for God, and
later he was very down and depressed. The point that is being made is that
he was a man like us. He struggled at times just like we do. And yet
he had great power in prayer. The application is that since he was a man
like us and had great power in prayer, we can have great power in prayer also.
Thought On This Chapter
JAS 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest
ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Every one of us is a sinner. There is not one
exception. And when we get saved, that old sin fleshly nature does not
just disappear. We don't get rid of that until we go to be with the Lord.
So it is inevitable that offences will come. Sooner or later someone will
get in the flesh and hurt your feelings. And sooner or later you will slip
up also. You might even not realize it or do it on purpose. But
mistakes and misunderstandings will happen. When it does, we are not to
get a bad spirit about it. Don't hold a grudge. We have to let it go
and forgive. We need to be willing to accept offences. James then
gives us an example.
JAS 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have
spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of
patience.
The prophets, God's chosen men to speak for Him,
suffered greatly. They suffered affliction and were an example of
patience. They trusted in the Lord anyway. We should never get an
attitude when someone does something bad to us. There are those who get
this attitude of how dare they. How can this happen to me. They act
all shocked about it. When the reality is that all that live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Don't get a bad attitude at offences. Realize
they will come, they are a part of life, they have there place. They help
us practice faith, forgiveness, understanding, patience, ect... Be willing
to take it the way Jesus would want us to.
JAS 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest
ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
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King James Bible Main Index:
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James 5 |
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[5]
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JAS 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
JAS 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
JAS 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
JAS 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
JAS 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
JAS 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
JAS 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
JAS 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
JAS 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
JAS 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
JAS 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
JAS 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
JAS 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
JAS 5:14 Is any sick among you? 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:
JAS 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
JAS 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
JAS 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
JAS 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
JAS 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
JAS 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
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Thought on this Chapter JAS 5:16 Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Prayer changes things. You can go back thru
history and look at how the big revivals started with prayer. You can look
at the great men of God, men that God used in a mighty way, and you will see
that they were great men of prayer. Men like Moody spent hours in prayer
each and every day. HOURS! One survey of pastors in America showed
that the average amount of time spent in prayer daily was 8 minutes. Is it
any wonder that our nation is in a mess.
And it is a certain type of prayer that changes things.
Verse 16 says it is fervent prayer. It is not a dry eyed heartless type of
prayer that changes things. That type of prayer has no power. We
need fervent prayer. Put your heart into it. Spend some time in
prayer. Go ahead and let God give you a burden. Shed some tears in
prayer.
Notice also that it is the prayer of a righteous man
that changes things. You need to live a clean life to have power in
prayer. Shut off the dirty TV shows. Poor the booze down the drain
and so on. You need to live a life that is pleasing to God if you want
your prayers to avaieth much. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
This is the kind of prayer that we need today. |
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