JAMES WEEK Eleven

PUTTING FAITH INTO PRACTICE: The Conclusion

Is there anything more beautiful than a prayer of a child? I remember well the prayers my boys prayed when they were young: prayers of thanksgiving for everyone and everything they could see as they peeked through one open eye, prayers of request for sick pets and siblings and grandparents, and sometimes, even, prayers for strangers walking down the street. When we are young, prayers often come easy because we aren’t trying to impress. We aren’t worried about who is listening or how the words sound when they fall from our tongue. We don’t think about how silly it might be to thank God for the trivial or to ask Him for the substantial. We just pray.

As James bring his letter to a close, he reminds his readers (and us) of the importance of communicating with the God we serve. Perhaps of all the faith actions that he has outlined, this one may be the most important. In verses 13-18, the word “pray” (or a derivative of that word) is used 7 times, and “sing praises” and “confess your sins” (both components of prayer) are also mentioned. It’s obvious that James doesn’t want us to miss the point. Prayer is important—just as important, in fact, for adults as it is for children.

Are you having a hard time? Pray. Are you happy? Pray. Are you sick? Pray!

Have you committed sins? Pray. Do you know someone who is sick? Pray. Are you sick? Pray!

Adults complicate prayers, but James tries to simplify it once again. Whether you are praising or confessing, requesting, or worshipping, prayer is simply our way of having a conversation with God. We can try to dress it up, adding “thees” and “thous” and frills and fancies, but in the end, like any good parent, God just wants us to talk to Him. It’s an essential part of living a life of faith.

Finally, James addresses his audience one last time with the same terms of endearment he used at the beginning of his letter (1:2).

“My dear brothers and sisters,” he says, drawing their attention to himself for one final word, and it’s a very important word at that. “If someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.” (5:19-20)

James must have recognized the unpopularity of his message, the tendency to confuse what he is trying to say. But he wanted his readers then and now to know the truth. Works cannot save, but saving faith does work.

C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, echoes the message well, “To have Faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”

THIS WEEK

This is the last week studying the book of James. If you have stuck with it for this entire study, congratulations on a job well done! You should know James 1:22 very well by now. This week, I encourage you to share that verse with someone you know and talk about what it means.
Read James 5: 13-20 every day.
Spend time writing a short paragraph about what you have learned from the book of James. Look at each chapter, and prayerfully consider areas that James has addressed that are still problematic for you. Remember, Christians are not and will never be perfect, but by the grace and forgiveness of God, we can continue to grow more Christ-like each day that we live. Pray for God’s help as you seek to put your faith into practice.