Prayer in James 5

This blogger will attempt a simple alliteration regarding prayer.  Please note:

1. Riches Rebuked (1-6): "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. 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. 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. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.  Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you."
2. Patience Rewarded (7-9): "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. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door."
3. Perseverance Recompensed (11-14): " 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.  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.  Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 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:"
4. Prayer Regarded (15-18): "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.  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.  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.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Before prayer, the other points above would buffet a believer. Riches and heavy labor, physical or mental, take a toll on the human condition. When praying as noted in points 2 and 3 and verses 7-14, one must exercise patience and extreme faith, all the while maintaining civility and a meek spirit. After diligent prayer shown in verses 15-18, answers are given, even when the wait for the answer is sometimes long.  

The term "prayer warrior" has been given to those labeled "righteous"(folks) who are fervent in their praying as described in verse 16.  The meaning of this word "fervent" in the NT is to "put forth power, display one's activity."  In other words, there is a physical, mental and spiritual effort going on in the prayer closet.

Quite simply, real prayer, isn't for the faint of heart. It is "work!" Yet, when we pray this way, we know the Father hears and answers in His time.  It is also a time of sweet communion and fellowship with our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by way of the Holy Spirit.

So much has been preached and more could be said about this subject but this blogger prefers to let His Word speak for itself. (Isa 55.11)

Amen and blessings to those believers who "pray without ceasing." (I Thes 5.17)