TOPIC:‌"You Can't Live Without Prayer"

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌James 5:13-20

 

‌‌"The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (5:16)

 

‌I am fully persuaded that prayer is the greatest force in the universe. Not only that, but prayer is the greatest need in the life of the believer. You can't live without it. You may exist, but you aren't really living. But the tragic thing is that there are many believers who have not made it a regular part of their lives. Multitudes of Christians use prayer only as a crutch when facing a difficult situation. It becomes an SOS in distressful times. This view of prayer must change.

 

‌Without question prayer is an essential exercise in the spiritual life of the Christian. The life of the believer is supported and sustained by prayer. It is as vital to the life of the spirit as breathing is to the life of the body. That is why Harold Lindsell, in his book, When You Pray, wrote: "To be a Christian without praying is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." That is what James S. Stewart, great missionary statesmen of the 20th century, was writing about: "The man who does not pray, who does not have even five minutes a day in his own room face to face with God and heart to heart with Christ, is simply playing with his soul." And Dr. Stewart goes on to state: "I am saying that without prayer there is no Christian life possible that is worthy of the name." Why? Dr. Stewart continues: "Because it is down in the channel of prayer that the power of God gets into a man." I fully agree with him!

 

‌I say to you, my fellow Christians, what we need in our churches at this very moment is a revival of prayer. We don't need more tea-time, we need more knee-time. Not more service, but more supplication. Let us consider now some important truths about prayer as found in our text and the surrounding verses.

 

I.

 

‌To begin with, think of the DEFINITION of the MEANING of prayer. Notice the words in verse 13: "let him pray." In verse 14: "let them pray." Verse 16: "and pray." Verse 17: "and he prayed." Verse 18: "and he prayed again." As you can see, prayer is the theme in this entire passage. Pray when you are in trouble (v. 13). Pray when you are sick (v. 14). Pray for one another (v. 16). And I would add - pray at all times.

 

‌Let me give you a theological definition of prayer: Prayer is the outpouring of the soul to God in the name of Christ and through the strength of the Holy Spirit for those things He would have us receive. That is a splendid . . .