James 5:12-20 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is James 5:12-20. Let’s go!
James 5:12 (NIV)
12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear–not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.
On verse 12: Years before James wrote verse 12, Jesus would say something similar:
Matthew 5:34-37 (NIV)
34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
In other words, when you are a person of integrity, you don’t need to qualify your yesses and no’s with “I swear to God” or “I swear on my mother’s grave”, because your yes simply means yes and your no simply means no. The integrity of your words should not change depending on what you swear to or what you swear on. Be trustworthy and dependable with your words, someone whose promises others can count on.
James 5:13-41 (NIV)
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
On verses 13-14: Do you want a closer, more intimate relationship with God? Do you want to experience more of His power working in your life? No matter what situation you’re facing today – trouble (v13), happiness (v13), sickness (v14), sin (v15), good, bad – bring it to God in prayer.
James 5:15-16 (NIV)
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
On verses 15-16: Whenever you pray for someone who is sick, remember this promise: “the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well”. But what if you prayed but the person didn’t seem to get better? I’ve stopped counting how many sick people I have prayed for in my lifetime. In some cases, the healing we prayed for came immediately. In other cases, the illness or infirmity we were praying to heal remained. But even in those cases where the healing did not come the way we asked for, those times of prayer still always seemed to encourage the person being prayed for and lead that person closer to God. Perhaps that’s part of what verse 15 means when it says “make the sick person well”. In some cases, God was doing something even more important than healing that person’s physical sickness; He was using the sickness as an opportunity to lead that person to Himself. So don’t stop praying for those who are sick. Just believe that the prayer offered in faith God will make the sick person well. God will use the prayers you offer in faith to do something great no matter what.
James 5:17-18 (NIV)
17 Elijah was a man just like us. 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.
On verses 17-18: As an example of how “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (v16), James cites the prophet Elijah whose prayers on multiple occasions affected the rain. Yet notice that James did not call Elijah anything special like a “prophet” or a “man of God”. Instead, he says, “Elijah was a man just like us” (v17). In other words, the power of prayer is not something that only an elite few can access. Anyone who has trusted in Jesus’ blood to save them is righteous in God’s sight and has the ability to pray powerful and effective prayers. The key to answered prayer is to pray with faith and with a heart that is sensitive and aware of how God thinks and feels toward the situation you are praying for.
James 5:19-20 (NIV)
19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
On verses 19-20: The most important thing you can do for another person is to lead them to a safe place with God. Jesus did that for us. When all of us had wandered from the truth, Jesus gave His life to bring us back to God. Similarly, when you spend your life for the sake of bringing God’s lost children back to Himself, it is the most powerful, wonderful, meaningful and valuable way to use the life that God has given you. Who is someone God wants you to lead a little closer to Himself today?
This brings our look at the book of James to a closer. Go back and take a look at the most important lessons you learned in this book. How is God using this book to speak into your life?
Heavenly Father, You are so dependable and faithful. I praise You that we can count on every word You say. When I pray for sick people, may I pray with faith not in my own ability to heal, but in Your promise that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. May I use this life for the greatest purpose of all: to lead others to know You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
