Faith Prays, that is what faith does. Prayer is a fruit of faith, it is an evidence of faith, it is an expression of faith and there is no true prayer without faith. Welcome to Open the Bible with pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and so Colin the question is, what does it mean to pray with faith? Well, faith prays in different ways and I can think of two quite distinct ways. There are some situations in which God has made the outcome of a prayer already known, for example, when I confess my sins he is faithful and just and will forgive my sins. So I can pray with absolute confidence and assurance on the basis of the clear promise of the word of God knowing the outcome. There’s no question about that. And so faith prays with great confidence where the outcome is already known. And there may be situations, James talks about this, the prayer of faith, by which a person who is sick becomes well. There may be situations in which God gives to a sick person or to a person who is praying for that person, a particular conviction that he is going to do something and so it comes to pass. But then there are other situations that are quite different. I was just about to ask about that. There may be situations where a person believes that an outcome is the one God wants for them and they pray with that in mind and the prayer isn’t answered. Yeah that’s right. And I think at that point faith prays with submission where the outcome has not been revealed. And there are many many situations in life where we don’t have a specific promise of scripture that is tied to an outcome. Often this is the case with unconverted people and we ask of God. But we have to submit ourselves to Him. And so many of our requests come. But that’s still praying with faith. Faith has confidence where the outcome is revealed. And it has a submissive spirit where that outcome has not yet been revealed. Both are equally praying with faith and I want to encourage us in both because we need to pray with faith. But it looks different in different situations. So let’s look at James chapter 5 today as we hear the message called, Praying in the Name of Christ. Here’s Colin. Well, would you open your bibles please at James and chapter 5. We’re learning about faith, which is the bond of a living union between a believer and Jesus Christ, in which the believer comes to love and trust and serve Him. And in this series, we’re looking at the anatomy of faith, we’re learning together from the scriptures what faith actually does. And using the image of the human body, we have been learning together that faith has ears, hearing the Word of Christ. Faith has hands, serving with the love of Christ. Faith has a mouth that feeds on the bread of Christ. And last week we saw faith has a voice, declaring the praise of Christ. Today I want us to look at the subject of prayer, and very obviously following the image of the anatomy faith has knees, praying in the name of Christ. Faith prays. That is what faith does. Prayer is a fruit of faith. It is an evidence of faith. It is an expression of faith and there is no true prayer without faith. In fact, the Bible says very clearly in Hebrews 11, anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. So, prayer is impossible without faith. It’s merely words apart from faith. Anyone who comes to Him, anyone who comes to God that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. It is faith that prays. Unbelief, never does. It merely talks. And God has given to us astonishing promises in regard to prayer. Let me remind you of seven of perhaps the most striking statements in the New Testament with regards to prayer of which the passage that we’ve read from James Chapter 5 is one. But let’s begin with the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew Chapter 18. Listen to the power of these promises and then I’m going to ask a question, how do we use them and how do we apply them. Number one from Matthew 18 and verse 19 and 20. Jesus said, if two of you on earth do not agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. John chapter 14 and verse 13. Jesus says, I will do whatever you ask in my name. John chapter 14 and verse 14, the very next verse. You may ask me, Jesus says, for anything in my name, and I will do it. John chapter 15 and verse 16. Our Lord says, the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John chapter 16 and verse 23. Number 5. Jesus says, I tell you the truth. My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name, repeating the same words. Number 6. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 14. This is the confidence that we have in approaching God that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. That’s 1 John 5 verse 14. And then number 7. The passage we read from Jameson chapter 5. Is anyone among 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 and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise him up. Now folks just to take in the scope of this. These are astonishing promises of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. How are we to use these promises? What does it mean for you, for us, to pray with faith? How can you do that? Because faith prays. Now as we come to the subject today, I have to tell you that there are many Christians who at least in my experience over these years, have become perplexed, have become confused, troubled, over how to use these promises. And so just as we come to this, I want to describe a situation that as a pastor I have seen many times, too many times. And I think you will recognize it and you will understand it, and it will frame for us what we’re trying to learn from the scriptures today. A loved one becomes ill. The illness is serious. The family begin to pray. Perhaps you have been in this situation. I expect you have. Over time the situation becomes worse. Someone says, you know if only we had more faith, we could move the hand of God and we would get the answer. As the praying goes on, there is an increasing sense that life and death itself lies in the hands of those who pray. Faith is no longer about trusting God. Somehow faith has become about us managing to convince ourselves that what we look for to happen is actually going to take place. Then if it doesn’t happen, one of two things will most likely result and possibly both. One is that you blame yourself. I have heard this so many times, if only I had greater faith my loved one might have lived. Friend, that is a crushing burden. The other one, and it can go along with blaming yourself, is of course to resent God. If God really cared, if God even listened, my loved one would have lived. Friend, that too a crushing burden. Either way, I hope you see what has happened, that where this happens in a person’s experience, and as I say I’ve seen it happen many times, what has happened is that a person has put themselves in the place of God, and whenever we try to take the place of God we assume a burden that we cannot bear. So I’m asking the question out of a heartfelt concern to understand the Scriptures and for us to use them because these promises are given to us. So what does it mean to pray with faith? That’s the question that is before us today. And I want to show you from the Bible that faith prays in two ways. Faith prays with assurance and faith prays with submission. And these two kinds of supplications – and they’re distinct and we’re going to see them together today – these two kinds of prayer are given to us for different situations and discerning how to pray is critical as we seek to engage in this marvelous gift that God has given to us. It is important that we know how to use these gifts of prayer and that we learn to distinguish between them. Now just so you know where we are going, I’ll give you the two headings and then we’ll plunge into the first. But here are the two. Faith prays with assurance where God has made the outcome known. That’s the first. And second, faith prays with submission where God has kept the outcome hidden. These are the two things that I want to try and show you from the Scriptures with the great desire that this will be helpful to all of us as we seek to grow in the faith that prays. You’re listening to open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and today’s message, Praying in the Name of Christ. It’s part of our series The Anatomy of Faith. If you miss one of the series or want to go back and listen again, you can do that by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk. You can find us as a podcast. That’s available on your regular podcasting site, search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates. There’s also a link on our website to the podcast. Back to the message now, we’re in James 5. Here’s Colin. Now just so you know where we are going I’ll give you the two headings and then we’ll plunge into the first. But here are the two. Faith prays with assurance where God has made the outcome known. That’s the first. And second, faith prays with submission where God has kept the outcome hidden. These are the two things that I want to try and show you from the scriptures with the great desire that this will be helpful to all of us as we seek to grow in the faith that prays. Let’s begin here and I hope you have your Bible open at James Chapter 5. That faith prays with assurance when God has made the outcome known. Now, James gives us an example of this kind of prayer that he’s describing in James and Chapter 5 and the example that he chooses is the story of Elijah. So let’s begin with the example at verse 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. Now, many of you will know the story well already. You can read about it in First Kings, chapter 17 and chapter 18. Ahab was a wicked king and evil king, and that doesn’t mean it was just great. He was a great king and among God’s people, there had been a great rebellion and a turning to idolatry. Elijah prayed that it would not rain. He must have been very sure that what he was praying would happen. In one Kings in chapter 17 in verse one, we are told that Elijah went right into the court of Ahab, the tyrant. He said, was face-to-face to Ahab, it’s not going to rain on the land. You have to be pretty confident about what you’re praying about in order to say that to a tyrant king. Elijah prayed. He knew that what he prayed would happen. Now the question, of course, is how did he know? I think we can answer that by looking at what happened three and a half years later that James also tells us about here in verse 18. One Kings chapter 18 tells us that after a long time in the third year, after three years of the drought, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, go and present yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the land. In other words, God says, the word of the Lord comes to this man and God says there will be rain. And on the basis of this promise Elijah calls Ahab and Ahab comes to Elijah. It�s so interesting that it�s that way around. And Elijah prayed for rain and had great assurance when he prayed because God had told him that this would happen. Now that�s how it happened, when the rain returned it seems reasonable to assume that it was the same three years earlier when the rain stopped. What happens here, God tells Elijah what will happen. And so Elijah prays with great assurance with great confidence because God has already made the outcome known. Now James uses this to illustrate the kind of praying that he describes in verse 14 and 15. Look at what he says. Is any 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 and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise him up. Let me give four observations on these remarkable verses. Number one. The initiative is with the sick person, not with the elders. Number two. The sick person is not required to call the elders but he or she is permitted to do so. This is something that a person who is ill may do. Number three. God may use this occasion when the elders gather with someone who is sick to give an assurance of the outcome so that they are able to pray what James calls the prayer of faith. In other words to pray in the same way as Elijah who is the illustration did. It would seem to me therefore that just making a fourth observation that a person should consider calling for the elders especially if and when they sense that it maybe the purpose of God to intervene in their life with a gift of healing. Let me give you an example here an illustration just from my own experience of an occasion where I witnessed this myself and I’ve chosen one intentionally from a good number of years ago because history gives distance which enables you to make a better assessment of what has happened in these kind of situations. I’m thinking about a lady who worshipped with her husband and with her son and daughter-in-law in the church that I served in London for 16 years. She was diagnosed with cancer. She asked for the elders to come as James describes here in chapter 5, and to pray with her. So I went to her home with another elder. I’ll never forget the occasion. It was Christmas Eve. And I said to her, now I will anoint you with oil as it says here and then we will pray and if you want to pray, you should feel free to do so and said the same to her husband. I anointed her with oil. I began to pray and then the other elder prayed. Then this lady began to pray. Now I have to tell you, this lady had been a regular attender at the weekly prayer meeting in the church. I would describe her as quiet as a mouse. Though she had attended every week, as far as I could remember, invariably, throughout the time that I had been a pastor, I had never once heard her pray publicly. In fact, after this occasion, I never heard her pray publicly again. It was the only occasion that I ever did. But as she began to pray on this occasion, I can only say that it seemed that God gave to her a gift of faith. As she prayed, she was given a confidence, an assurance that God would heal her, and he did. I tell the story because I was able to observe what happened for years afterward. The lady was remarkably healed. Now, I have no other explanation for what happened but that the Holy Spirit gave to her a special assurance with regards to the outcome of her prayer, so that she was able to pray as James describes here, as Elijah did, the prayer of faith. I smile as I tell this story, because I’m quite sure in my own mind that she called for the elders thinking that the other guy or I myself would be the ones to pray the prayer of faith. God knew better. He gave it to her. She was given a prompting of the spirit that this was indeed God’s purpose in her life at this time, and she was enabled to pray with great assurance. Now, I want you to try and understand, therefore, that the prayer of faith that is described in James Chapter V in Verse 15 is not an effort that is somehow worked up. It’s not me trying to convince myself of a particular outcome in relation to prayer. No, it is a gift that comes down. The prayer of faith is a gift of God. And folks, it is not limited to situations of sickness. It may be that we are praying for a breakthrough of God’s grace in world mission. It may be that we are praying for the advance of the gospel. It may be that we are in need of guidance on a particular need. And we’ve been praying, and we have been laboring, and suddenly, there seems to be a freedom, a gift that is given in the process of prayer. And there is clarity, and there is confidence that is given with regards to the outcome, and the evidence follows. I think some of us perhaps know more of this than we perhaps immediately realize. Have you not had an experience at some time of being wakened up in the night and you just know there is someone for whom you may pray? You do not know why that has to be the case, but the Spirit of God lives within you. And sometimes moves in particular ways in individuals and in churches so that we may be positioned to pray in a particular way with assurance into the advance of His purpose for us. So, this is the first kind of prayer that I want us to grasp clearly and to understand well, and to which the great promises earlier that we read clearly relate. Prayer with assurance is prayer that arises either from a promise of scripture or from a prompting of the spirit that is given by God in order to give direction to our prayers. It is a gift! And so if this should happen in your experience, then be grateful for it and pray in this way. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and our message, Praying in the name of Christ. That’s part of our series, The Anatomy of Faith. What Faith is and What Faith Does. And if you’ve missed any of the series or if you simply want to go back and listen again, you can do that by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk There you can listen to any of our previously broadcasted messages. You’ll also find the messages as a podcast on your favourite podcast site or following the link on the website. If you want to receive those regularly, simply subscribe to the podcast. Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners, and if that’s something you’ve been considering doing, then this month we have a great offer for you. If you’re able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of five pounds per month or more, we’d love to say thank you by sending you a copy of C. H. Spurgeon’s book, Encouragement for the Depressed. Colin, who is this book for? Well, this book is really for anyone who is discouraged or going through a dark time, and I can’t imagine that there’s any Christian who doesn’t experience that at some point in life. What’s so striking to me about this book is that it’s written by a man who was known for his extraordinary faith. I mean, the Spirit of God rested on the life and ministry of C. H. Spurgeon, and yet he knew what it was to go through times of extraordinary darkness and even a sense of despair at some points. You know, he suffered from smallpox, gout, rheumatism, inflammation of the kidneys. And his wife was bed-ridden for decades. I mean, this man really knew what it was to suffer, and yet he found in all of this that he was forced closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. I love what he says. I’ve learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the rock of ages. I love that. Kiss the waves that throw me up against the rock of ages. Here’s biblical wisdom from a man of faith who knew what it was to really struggle in dark times. And I have found his writing to be wonderfully encouraging, refreshing, and uplifting. And that’s why I’m really grateful that we have the opportunity of getting this book out this month. C.H. Spurgeon’s book, Encouragement for the Depressed, is our gift to you if you are able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible this month in the amount of £5 per month or more. Full details and to give online, go to our website Openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Collin Smith, I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll join us again next time.