Mars Hill Fellowship

MESSAGE |

Pray For One Another

SERIES |

One Another

SCRIPTURE |

James 5:13-18

SPEAKER |

Pastor Joseph Ardayfio

KEY THEME |

I. Prayer is an indispensible spiritual weapon. As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to KEEP ON praying for one another.

1. To intercede means to plead or petition on behalf of someone else.
    
2. We are called to pray for others because it invites God’s intervention. James 5:16b reminds us that The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

II. Who qualifies as a righteous man?

1. Romans 3:10-12 says that none of us can call ourselves righteous by our own deeds. The good news is that through Jesus Christ, a righteousness, apart from the law, has been made known. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. (Romans 3:21-24)
    
2. We can paraphrase James 5:16b to say that, “the prayers of those who put their faith and trust in God THROUGH Christ Jesus will be both powerful and effective.

i.     The “righteous” person is committed to doing God’s will and to cultivating a relationship with God that knows and prays God’s will.

III. What happens when a righteous man prays?

1. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective as they welcome God’s best to be manifested in the earth.
    
2. Effective prayer is not grounded in getting what we want! In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked for a way to avoid the cross, but ultimately God’s best was the grace that Jesus needed to finish the journey to the cross. Jesus learned to pray to the Father, “Not what I will, but what you will.”
    
3. Jesus taught his disciples to pray. “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
    
4. When we are praying for others, we have to realize and BELIEVE that God has the power to do the IMPOSSIBLE. If we are simply praying according to our own strength or resources, then intercessory prayer will be overwhelming! Intercessory prayer is based on God’s great power that is at work within us.

IV. 5 Promises of powerful and effective prayer

1. Powerful prayer brings healing (James 5:13-16)
    
2. Powerful prayer transcends distance (Acts 12:6-16)
    
3. Powerful prayer can cover multitudes (Isaiah 37:14-36)
    
4. Powerful prayer releases strongholds (1 Samuel 16:14-23)
    
5. Powerful prayer advances faster and further. (Daniel 6:16-24)

V.  Ultimately when we pray for one another, we stand in the promise of 1 John 5:14-15: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Scripture Index:

James 5:13-18
Ephesians 6:18
Romans 3:10-12
Romans 3:21-24
Romans 5:21
Mark 14:36
1 John 5:14

thoughts for further study

View Let's Talk Notes for this Week's Message