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by Logan Ames

I may be a pastor, teacher, and author right now, but those are far from what I thought I’d be doing when I got older, had you asked me about it when I was younger. Like everyone else, I have had different passions over the course of my life. At one point, I wanted to be a sports broadcaster, announcing baseball games and other events. I was a weird combination of a jock who loved sports and a math nerd who loved numbers and statistics. Basically, I was fantasy football before fantasy football was cool! What proved to me that sports announcing wasn’t going to be something I truly cared about was finding out that I’d likely have to go to college and major in journalism. That sounded like no fun, so I ignored that childhood passion. My first real job, other than landscaping for my neighbors, was working as a walking candy bar in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I had tons of fun in that job and I was passionate about making people smile, but short of making it to the big time (you know, like Mickey Mouse), I knew that wasn’t my future. In high school, I started going to my church youth group and that was where I discovered my true passion for God’s Word, studying it and teaching it, and that was one passion I would not ignore.

I was willing to go through all the necessary training and hard work to become an approved, reliable teacher of the Scriptures and I believe that was and is God’s will for me. Yet, I’m aware of how many other passions I ignored simply because it would’ve been difficult to pursue them. I’m sure you can relate. I’m blessed enough to be doing what I love right now and earn a living doing it, but I know so many who have just settled for way less than what God wants for them. I definitely settled early on in my life until God made it clear what my true passion was. What about you? What do you REALLY care about in life? Do other aspects of your life reflect your answer? It’s necessary for all of us to step back every once in a while and take inventory of ourselves to see where and how we are “settling," which is almost always the enemy of progress regarding our faith and obedience to the Lord.

While my focus here so far has been on our overall passions in life, I want to use it as a springboard to discuss our prayer lives. The title of this piece comes partially from a sermon series I did at the church I pastor on the book of Acts. In Acts 20:24, Paul says, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." Paul’s life reflected that he didn’t care about much else and was willing to go through every trial and give up every possible thing to complete this task. Earlier in the sermon series, we came across Acts 12, which tells us of another apostle who gave up everything to obey Christ and do God’s will. It’s the story of Peter being put in prison by the ruthless King Herod, who intended to make a public example out of Peter and execute him (Acts 12:1-4). But in Acts 12:5, we read, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." This shows us that Paul and Peter taught the early church, the same people to whom James writes, to not only aim high for that which God wills, but also to pray earnestly, fervently, and powerfully about the things they care about. David Guzik says that our prayer is often powerless because we are busy asking God to care about things we don’t care too much about.

In his letter to the early church, James concludes his writing by focusing on what it means to pray in faith for the things we care about and the things we know God cares about. In James 5:15-16, he specifically identifies several components of the prayer of faith. First, he writes, “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well” (v. 15a). This is a very interesting sentence. It appears that James is telling us that as long as we have enough faith, God will heal our loved one who is sick. This could be detrimental to the faith and growth of seekers if it were to be understood that way. What if God chooses not to provide the healing? Does that mean the person praying doesn’t have enough faith? A closer look at the original language is necessary here. The phrase “to make well” in the Greek is the word sodzo, which means “to save." It’s where we get the theological word “soteriology," which is the study of salvation. James has much more loftier goals in mind than simply a temporary, physical healing.

The question is, what do you really care about? James is encouraging the believers to ask God for physical healing while understanding that a person’s sin and separation from God is of much greater concern. It reminds me of the story of Jesus and the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus heals all ten guys of their condition, but nine out of ten never even come back to praise God and give thanks. The one who does is a Samaritan, and Jesus is astounded at the lack of gratitude shown by the Jewish men. He then looks at the Samaritan and says, “Your faith has made you well” (v. 19). The Greek word for “well” in that verse is also sodzo. Jesus is making the point that all ten lepers were physically healed, which is only temporary, but the one who gave thanks and praised Him showed faith that SAVED him permanently, beyond the sickness of this world. I believe that James has the same focus in his letter. It’s important to ask the Great Physician for healing and to explore practical methods for getting healthier, but if our focus remains only on the present physical condition of ourselves and our loved ones, then we aren’t aiming high or praying very high.

James tells us that if we are made well (aka “saved”), then our sins will be forgiven. But we have to walk in that forgiveness and walk away from the sin. An important first step to walking away from sin is acknowledging it, and an important second step would be surrounding yourself with those who will hold you accountable. Hence, James continues, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (v. 16a). This is a part of prayer and seeking God that today would be seen as an awkward and foreign concept, yet right there it is in Scripture. There are some obvious guidelines we should follow when confessing sin, particularly if it’s done publicly, to avoid causing greater distress for the hearers and potentially tempting them into further sin. However, James considers confession a necessary part of the prayer of faith. The Greek word for “confess” can actually be translated “to agree." In other words, confessing sin is important because the sinner acknowledges before others and God that the behavior was a sin. Keeping it in the dark breeds opportunity for the offender to justify it, and for the offended party to wonder if the offender even understands what they did. When the sin is confessed and brought into the light, it breeds unity, forgiveness, and healing.

Finally, James says that the prayer of faith must be “powerful and effective” (v. 16b). Other translations say that the prayer is “fervent." I shared earlier about the church earnestly praying for Peter when he was imprisoned by King Herod. That’s an example of fervent prayer. It’s not that our spiritual fervor will in any way influence God or convince Him to do what we want. That’s not the point James is making. He’s simply saying that we ought to be fervent about the things God is fervent about. We ought to truly care about God’s will and that which we are seeking Him for in prayer. In the rest of the chapter, which we’ll look at over the next two weeks, James uses the example of the fervent prayers of Elijah in the Old Testament.

What do you really care about? What things really are important to you? Does your prayer life reflect your answers? How much time do you spend in prayer each day? Are your prayers fervent and earnest, with a fire that won’t be put out until you see God move in some way, or are they more lukewarm, with an attitude of indifference? These are important questions to answer so you can determine whether you have been settling for a mediocre prayer life because you haven’t gotten the immediate results you want. If so, I urge you to seek the Lord with all your heart and all your might, to pray even to the point of exhaustion. You cannot ask God to care about the things you don’t even truly care about.

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