REALLY?
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
James 5:16
(Ask, and it will be given to you – Seek, and you will find – Knock, and the door will be opened to you.)
- Read the verse.
- Click on the green words (links) for complete and detailed definitions of certain words, from the Strong’s Greek Bible concordance.
- Read and study the definitions.
- Put it all back together by writing what you have read and learned.
- Understand that there is nothing simple or casual about “effective, fervent prayer”.
- Understand that there is nothing simple about righteousness with God.
- This is what the Bible says it takes to be “healed”.
“Healed” of what? (Do you really want to know?)
Matthew 4:23, “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. Verse 24. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them.”
What makes some prayers “effective”? (Do you really want to know?)
Confessing your sins to one another.
Praying for one another.
What is a “fervent” prayer? (Do you really want to know?)
“Fervent, heartfelt, passionate, urgent, from a deep sense of brokenness, lack, need or want”
What makes these prayers so effective? (Do you really want to know?)
A deep sense of brokenness, lack, need, want.
Being properly energized, filled, inspired by God.
How can I do this? (Do you really want to know?)
Confessing your sins to one another.
Praying for one another.
“Fervent, heartfelt, passionate, urgent, from a deep sense of brokenness, lack, need or want”
A deep sense of brokenness, lack, need, want.
Being properly energized, filled, inspired by God.
Examples: (Do you really want to know?)
Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Verse 4. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Verse 5. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Verse 6. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Verse 7. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Verse 8. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Verse 9. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Verse 10. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Verse 11. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Verse 12. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
There is nothing – and I repeat – nothing simple about following Jesus. But, the choice is simple: Follow Jesus and live now and eternally, or go your own way and perish into an eternal darkness where there is great darkness, wailing and gnashing of teeth.
There is nothing simple or casual about “effective, fervent prayer”. But the choice is clear: Continue to live by your own guile through trial and error by man’s failed ways, or live by the Spirit of God and thrive.
There is nothing simple about righteousness with God. But the choice is simple: You will reap what you sow. “Reap into the flesh”, (do things your own way), and die physically and emotionally and spiritually, or live by the righteousness of God through Christ, (be in right standing with God and others), and live a purposeful life now and eternally with God.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Related post: It Ain’t Easy – a series
PS: Below here are some extensive footnotes and study helps for the ‘hardcore’.
Commentary and Strong’s concordance definitions:
The Greek language reveals that the person praying is to consent fully, agree out and out confess, admit and acknowledge (cf. the early Hellenistic sense of the middle: I acknowledge a debt), without reservation (no holding back). (c) through giving thanks and praise.
To be healed generally means of the physical, sometimes of spiritual, disease, particularly as supernatural and bringing attention to the Lord Himself as the Great Physician . Example: [Strong’s #2390 /iáomai = “to heal”, draws the attention to the Lord, the supernatural Healer, i.e. beyond the physical healing itself and its benefits (as with 2323 /therapeúō).]
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
King James Bible
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
New King James Version
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
New American Standard Bible
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
If read in the Greek language and sentence structure:
“Much prevails (the) prayer of a righteous (man) being made effective”
(Very numerous is the strength and vigor when entered into the fray of prayer by faith when offered in great nee out of a deep personal sense of lack of any man or woman who believes in God, and out of their deepest want, lack and need, who in the eyes of God is in right standing with Him, declared innocent by Him, is energized by God to bring powerful results.)
MUCH – 4183 polýs – many (high in number); multitudinous, plenteous, “much”; “great” in amount (extent). 4183 /polýs (“much in number”) emphasizes the quantity involved. 4183 (polýs) “signifies ‘many, numerous’; . . . with the article it is said of a multitude as being numerous” (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 113,114) – i.e. great in amount.
PREVAILS – to be strong, have power
Usage: I have strength, am strong, am in full health and vigor, am able; meton: I prevail.
HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 2480 isxýō – properly, embodied strength that “gets into the fray” (action), i.e. engaging the resistance. For the believer, 2480 (isxýō) refers to the Lord strengthening them with combative, confrontive force to achieve all He gives faith for. That is, facing necessary resistance that brings what the Lord defines is success (His victory, cf. 1 Jn 5:4). Accordingly, faith (4102 /pístis) and 2480 (isxýō) are directly connected (Js 5:16). See 2479 (isxys).
Js 5:15,16 (Gk text): “15And the prayer characterized by faith (4102 /pístis) will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins with present effects, it will be forgiven him. 16Therefore, openly confess these sins to one another, and pray for the benefit of one another, for the purpose of being supernaturally healed. Very combative (engaging, overcoming, 2480 /isxýō) is the specific (urgent) request of a divinely-approved person who is energized (by God).”
[Here the believer seeks to make petitions (1162 /déēsis) in faith – i.e. which are in accord with God’s inbirthings (the persuasion of His will).]
PRAYER – supplication, prayer, entreaty.
HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 1162 déēsis (deō, “to be in want, lack“; see the cognate 1189 /déomai, “praying for a specific, felt need“) – heart-felt petition, arising out of deep personal need (sense of lack, want).
[1162 (déēsis) ultimately roots back to 1211 /dḗ (“really”) which likewise implies a felt need that is personal and urgent (R, 1149).]
Of a RIGHTEOUS – Definition: correct, righteous, by implication innocent
Usage: just; especially, just in the eyes of God; righteous; the elect (a Jewish idea).
HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 1342 díkaios (an adjective, derived from dikē, “right, judicial approval”) – properly, “approved by God” (J. Thayer); righteous; “just in the eyes of God” (Souter). See 1343 (“dikaiosynē).
[“Righteous” relates to conformity to God’s standard (justice). For more on the root-idea see the cognate noun, 1343 /dikaiosýnē (“righteousness”).]
1342 /díkaios (“righteous, just”) describes what is in conformity to God’s own being (His will, standard of rightness); hence “upright.”
BEING MADE EFFECTIVE – Definition: to be at work, to work, to do
Usage: I work, am operative, am at work, am made to work, accomplish; mid: I work, display activity.
HELPS Word-studies
1754 energéō (from 1722 /en, “engaged in,” which intensifies 2041 /érgon, “work”) – properly, energize, working in a situation which brings it from one stage (point) to the next, like an electrical current energizing a wire, bringing it to a shining light bulb.
| Strong’s | Greek | English | Morphology |
| 1843 [e] | Ἐξομολογεῖσθε exomologeisthe |
Confess | V-PMM-2P |
| 3767 [e] | οὖν oun |
therefore | Conj |
| 240 [e] | ἀλλήλοις allēlois |
to one another | RecPro-DMP |
| 3588 [e] | τὰς tas |
the | Art-AFP |
| 266 [e] | ἁμαρτίας, hamartias |
sins, | N-AFP |
| 2532 [e] | καὶ kai |
and | Conj |
| 2172 [e] | εὔχεσθε* euchesthe |
pray | V-PMM/P-2P |
| 5228 [e] | ὑπὲρ hyper |
for | Prep |
| 240 [e] | ἀλλήλων, allēlōn |
one another, | RecPro-GMP |
| 3704 [e] | ὅπως hopōs |
so that | Conj |
| 2390 [e] | ἰαθῆτε. iathēte |
you may be healed. | V-ASP-2P |
| 4183 [e] | πολὺ poly |
Much | Adj-ANS |
| 2480 [e] | ἰσχύει ischyei |
prevails | V-PIA-3S |
| 1162 [e] | δέησις deēsis |
[the] prayer | N-NFS |
| 1342 [e] | δικαίου dikaiou |
of a righteous [man] | Adj-GMS |
| 1754 [e] | ἐνεργουμένη. energoumenē |
being made effective. | V-PPM-NFS |
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