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Call to worship: Lamentations 3:19-26

Text: James 5:13-18

Main idea(s):

The faithful prayer of a righteous person may very well be the most powerful activity on earth.

Sermon Outline:

1. The Christian life as a call to prayer. (5:13-14)
2. The Christian life as a call to confidence in prayer. (5:15-18)
   • The ingredients of effective prayer. (5:15-16)
   • The example of an effective prayer. (5:17-18)

Prepare

Discussion Questions:

1. Read James 5:13-18.
2. What seasons of life does James cover in 5:13-14? What is James' call to the churches in each season? Is your life a prayerful life?
3. Concerning sickness, why would it be deemed prudent to call for the elders? What do the elders do? How are we to understand the anointing with oil in the name of the Lord? Consider the thing of greater significance: prayer.
4. As you read this text, what questions present themselves? Here are some of mine (besides the anointing with oil): is the prayer of faith a special kind of prayer? Will such prayer always save the one who is sick? What's the relationship between spiritual and physical illness, sin and sickness? Does our praying actually do anything? More to the point, how does the Christian life as James has described it give confidence in prayer? Or ask yourself this: what ingredients does James assign to an effective and powerful prayer?
5. How does the example of Elijah address any doubts we might have about the efficacy of prayer? How does the faithful prayer of a righteous person prove to be the most powerful activity on earth? Where did the rain come from? To what did Heaven respond? How does this relate to us in every season of the Christian life?