Bible Text: James 5:14\u201317 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mar\u00adtin von Schoultz | Series: Like you and me | Pray\u00aders are deep\u00adly roo\u00adted in an acti\u00adve rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God. They are based on asking God again and again what he wants to do, and then pray\u00ading and acting on it. If we do not deepen our rela\u00adti\u00adonship with Jesus, our pray\u00aders are inef\u00adfec\u00adti\u00adve and do not hit the mark.<\/p>\n
Wow, you saw it in the theat\u00adre, this ser\u00admon today is about pray\u00ader! And very clas\u00adsi\u00adcal\u00adly it was shown on the pray\u00ader for heal\u00ading. But I want to say right away that today it is not only about pray\u00ader for heal\u00ading, but it is about powerful pray\u00ader! And the Let\u00adter of James knows all about this! We read the text in James 5:16b-17 together. \tYour own pray\u00aders reflect your expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons. How do you pray? Bible Text: James 5:14\u201317 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mar\u00adtin von Schoultz | Series: Like you and me | Pray\u00aders are deep\u00adly roo\u00adted in an acti\u00adve rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God. They are based on asking God again and again what he wants to do, and then pray\u00ading and acting on it. If we do not deepen our rela\u00adti\u00adonship with Jesus,\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[],"wpfc_sermon_series":[63],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_sermon_series-wie-du-und-ich","1":"wpfc-sermon-single","2":"post-2929","3":"wpfc_sermon","4":"type-wpfc_sermon","5":"status-publish","6":"hentry","8":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\n\u00abMuch is the effect of the pray\u00ader of a righ\u00adteous man. Eli\u00adjah was a man of like mind as we are; and he pray\u00aded ear\u00adnest\u00adly that it might not rain, and it rai\u00adned not on the earth three years and six months. And again he pray\u00aded, and the hea\u00advens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit\u00bb (James 5:16b-17 Elb).
\nWow, you have to let that roll off your ton\u00adgue: \u00abThe pray\u00ader of a righ\u00adteous man is powerful in its effect! That sounds like an encou\u00adra\u00adging text! Does\u00adn\u2019t it? Does\u00adn\u2019t it? May\u00adbe you lis\u00adten\u00aded to the pas\u00adsa\u00adge now and thought, \u00abWait a minu\u00adte, do I expe\u00adri\u00adence that my pray\u00ader is able to do much?\u00bb What does much mean any\u00adway? And then the\u00adre is also this exam\u00adp\u00adle of Eli\u00adjah pray\u00ading that it should not rain for three years. I mean, \u00abCome on\u00bb, who among us has expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced that?
\nDo you know when a report\/testimony is sup\u00adpo\u00adsed to encou\u00adra\u00adge you in faith, but it does the oppo\u00adsi\u00adte? I see two dead ends that we often end up in.
\nThe first dead end looks like this: We hear a report, we read a Bible pas\u00adsa\u00adge and then we are dis\u00adcou\u00adra\u00adged becau\u00adse ever\u00ady\u00adthing seems so unat\u00adtainable. I call this dead end \u00abdead end of discouragement\u00bb.
\nThe second impas\u00adse is the \u00abimpas\u00adse of rela\u00adti\u00advi\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon\u00bb. May\u00adbe you know this too: You read a Bible pas\u00adsa\u00adge like \u00abmany things are pos\u00adsi\u00adble in the pray\u00ader of a righ\u00adteous man\u00bb and out of pro\u00adtec\u00adtion you put it into per\u00adspec\u00adti\u00adve for your own life. \u00abIt work\u00aded for Eli\u00adjah with the rain, but it does\u00adn\u2019t have to be that big for me\u00bb or \u00abI like to pray for heal\u00ading, but it does\u00adn\u2019t have to hap\u00adpen, after all, it\u2019s not my busi\u00adness, it\u2019s God\u2019s.\u00bb Do you know the\u00adse lines of thought?
\nUnfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, the\u00adse dead ends do not lead us whe\u00adre the text wants to lead us. And the first clue we find is in ver\u00adse 17, it says: \u00abEli\u00adjah was a man of the same kind as us\u00bb. Like you and me! Wow, Eli\u00adjah was no more bles\u00adsed than we are, he did\u00adn\u2019t have more Holy Spi\u00adrit at his dis\u00adpo\u00adsal or any other advan\u00adta\u00adge that we don\u2019t have. Wow, do we rea\u00adli\u00adse the magni\u00adtu\u00adde of this com\u00adpa\u00adri\u00adson. Eli\u00adjah was a per\u00adson of the same kind as we are. Per\u00adhaps we first need to look at who Eli\u00adjah actual\u00adly was. Eli\u00adjah was a pro\u00adphet in the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment. And not just any pro\u00adphet, but pret\u00adty much the most important pro\u00adphet of all. His mis\u00adsi\u00adon from God was to lead God\u2019s peo\u00adp\u00adle away from the wor\u00adship of gods. For exam\u00adp\u00adle, he once chal\u00adlen\u00adged 450 pro\u00adphe\u00adts of Baal. The god who first ans\u00adwers the pray\u00aders with fire from hea\u00adven, this is the true god. While the priests bro\u00adke off their pray\u00aders after seve\u00adral hours and gave up, Eli\u00adjah pray\u00aded once and God ans\u00adwe\u00adred with fire (1Kings 18). Later he sent word to the king that the rain would come again and short\u00adly after it star\u00adted to actual\u00adly rain. Hey, this Eli\u00adjah seems so spe\u00adcial, but here he is cal\u00adled \u00aba man of the same kind as we are\u00bb. Do you under\u00adstand what that means? This means that the who\u00adle ran\u00adge of what Eli\u00adjah expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced can also be expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced by us.
\nIn addi\u00adti\u00adon, this is in line with what Jesus says: \u00abIf you pray and ask for any\u00adthing, belie\u00adve that you have recei\u00adved it, and the request will be gran\u00adted to you, wha\u00adte\u00adver it may be\u00bb (Mark 11:24 NG\u00dc<\/span>). It is also inte\u00adres\u00adt\u00ading here that a per\u00adson of the same kind, means as much as \u00aba per\u00adson of the same sin\u00adful kind!\u00bb Or even \u00aba per\u00adson equal\u00adly chal\u00adlen\u00adged in faith as we are.\u00bb Wow, James is incre\u00addi\u00adbly expec\u00adtant, in the same pas\u00adsa\u00adge we can also read, \u00abIf any of you is sick, let him be pray\u00aded for, and pray\u00ader will save him\u00bb (accor\u00adding to James 5:14\u201315 Elb).
\nCan it be that we have lost this expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon? This expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon that our pray\u00aders can real\u00adly stop the rain for three years, that the sick will be hea\u00adled imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly, that finan\u00adcial pro\u00adblems will dis\u00adap\u00adpear or that peo\u00adp\u00adle who have tur\u00adned away from God will turn to Him again. Often our expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons are reflec\u00adted in our pray\u00aders. Do your pray\u00aders sound more like, \u00abIn Jesus\u00bb name be hea\u00adled, or Lord, if you want you can heal him, but if not show him that you love him any\u00adway etc.\u00bb Often we try to cover all even\u00adtua\u00adli\u00adties in pray\u00ader so that no mat\u00adter what hap\u00adpens, God has ans\u00adwe\u00adred the pray\u00ader. No, let us have a high expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon becau\u00adse James says to us that we are the same as Eli\u00adjah. But now we still face the pro\u00adblem that often our pray\u00aders do not have the gre\u00adat effec\u00adti\u00adve\u00adness that Eli\u00adjah had.
\nThe good thing is, the text also talks about effec\u00adti\u00adve\u00adness and that is our second clue. \u00abThe pray\u00ader of a righ\u00adteous man is powerful in its effect\u00bb. Here, the Ger\u00adman trans\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon is a bit unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte. In Eng\u00adlish it would sound more like, \u00abAn effec\u00adtu\u00adal pray\u00ader of a righ\u00adteous man, that is able to do much.\u00bb Often we only look at this \u00abmuch\u00bb, but the focus should be more on the effec\u00adti\u00adve pray\u00ader. In Greek, effec\u00adti\u00adve means \u00abinspi\u00adred by the Holy Spi\u00adrit\u00bb. Pray\u00aders are not effec\u00adti\u00adve sim\u00adply becau\u00adse we have an expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon or becau\u00adse we have no doubt that the Lord will ans\u00adwer our pray\u00aders. Rather, pray\u00aders are effec\u00adti\u00adve when they come from the Holy Spi\u00adrit. Romans 8:26 says some\u00adthing about this: \u00abAnd also the Spi\u00adrit of \u00abGod\u00bb inter\u00adce\u00addes for us with sup\u00adpli\u00adca\u00adti\u00adons and gro\u00adans; he expres\u00adses what we can\u00adnot say with our words. In this way he comes to our aid in our weak\u00adne\u00adss, becau\u00adse we do not know how to pray in order to pray pro\u00adper\u00adly\u00bb (Romans 8:26 NG\u00dc<\/span>). We don\u2019t actual\u00adly know how to pray, but the Holy Spi\u00adrit knows, and when He tells us, we can pray for it and it happens!
\nThis is the reason why Eli\u00adjah is given as an exam\u00adp\u00adle. Becau\u00adse the first we hear of Eli\u00adjah is in 1 Kings 17, whe\u00adre Eli\u00adjah says to King Ahab, \u00abAs the LORD<\/span> God of Isra\u00adel lives, befo\u00adre whom I stand, when the\u00adre shall be dew and rain in the\u00adse years, except upon my word\u00bb (1 Kings 17:1 Elb). We do not even read that Eli\u00adjah pray\u00aded. But it does not say that Eli\u00adjah did not pray, but the text shows more the rela\u00adti\u00adonship bet\u00adween God and Eli\u00adjah. Pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly Eli\u00adjah pray\u00aded, \u00abGod what do you want to do?\u00bb And God explai\u00adned to him that the\u00adre was going to be a drought. And on that Eli\u00adjah reigned.
\nThis shows us how stron\u00adgly pray\u00aders are based on the rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God. If we do not deepen our rela\u00adti\u00adonship with Jesus, our pray\u00aders will be inef\u00adfec\u00adti\u00adve. It\u2019s like play\u00ading darts blind\u00adfold\u00aded, our pray\u00aders just don\u2019t hit the mark. And I know that many of my pray\u00aders have not hit the mark. That is hard! And this is whe\u00adre we might have to take a deep swal\u00adlow! But we don\u2019t want to stay here! Becau\u00adse that would be the dead end of dis\u00adcou\u00adra\u00adge\u00adment, but our Bible text is encou\u00adra\u00adging. I belie\u00adve that we can take off this blind\u00adfold, or even bet\u00adter, we can let God take it off. For it says: Much is the effect of a righ\u00adteous pray\u00ader. Hey, when the Bible speaks of the righ\u00adteous, it does not mean the self-righ\u00adteous, but always Jesus or tho\u00adse who are con\u00adnec\u00adted to Jesus. Yes, Jesus makes you and me righ\u00adteous! He wants to give you the gift and take off your blind\u00adfold com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly. \u00abGod made him who was wit\u00adhout sin to be sin for us, so that through uni\u00adon with him we might have the righ\u00adteous\u00adness to stand befo\u00adre God\u00bb (2 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 5:21 NG\u00dc<\/span>).
\nPer\u00adhaps now you rea\u00adli\u00adse why I am a fan of this Bible text. This pas\u00adsa\u00adge from James does not tell us what we need for a powerful pray\u00ader, but that we alre\u00ada\u00addy have ever\u00ady\u00adthing. The core of this text points to the rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God: Do you have a rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God? And if so, what does that rela\u00adti\u00adonship look like for you? Becau\u00adse accor\u00adding to Eli\u00adjah, this rela\u00adti\u00adonship is an acti\u00adve attach\u00adment to God. A rela\u00adti\u00adonship that always asks, \u00abGod, what do you want to do?\u00bb A rela\u00adti\u00adonship that beg\u00adins to under\u00adstand the Holy Spirit\u2019s words and acts on them. May\u00adbe you are say\u00ading, \u00abI don\u2019t have a real rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God, but I want one,\u00bb then I want to invi\u00adte you to pray with me. Or may\u00adbe you think: \u00abI have a rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God, but I want to deepen it\u00bb, then pray with me.
\nFinal\u00adly, I would like to encou\u00adra\u00adge you once again. Now, if a pray\u00ader does not have its effect, don\u2019t say things like: \u00abMay\u00adbe God wan\u00adted to do some\u00adthing else, I can\u2019t know that, after all, ever\u00ady\u00adthing is in his hands\u00bb. Yes, it is true that it is in God\u2019s hands, but it is in our hands to keep asking God what he wants to do. Powerful pray\u00ader comes from being con\u00adnec\u00adted to Jesus, asking him what he wants to do, and pray\u00ading and acting accordingly.
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead the Bible text: James 5:14\u201317<\/p>\n
\n\tHow often do I ask God what he wants to do and what I should pray for?
\n\tIf I want to deepen my rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God, what are my con\u00adcre\u00adte next steps?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"