(a) Highlight James' message on effective prayer (b) Identify any three factors that can hinder prayer.

Answer Details

(a) James' message on effective prayer (James 5:13-18; 1:5-8; 4:2-3).

1. James taught that prayer is fitting for every condition: whoever is suffering should pray, and whoever is cheerful should sing praise to God.
2. Concerning the sick, he said the person should call the elders of the church, who would pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
3. He gave the assurance that the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
4. He urged believers to confess their sins to one another and pray for one another, so that they may be healed.
5. He affirmed that the prayer of a righteous person has great power in its effects; it is powerful and effective.
6. He cited Elijah, a man with a nature like ours, who prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain for three years and six months; then he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its fruit. This showed that fervent, believing prayer produces results.
7. He taught that whoever lacks wisdom should ask God, who gives generously without reproach, and it will be given him.
8. But he insisted that one must ask in faith, with no doubting, for the doubter is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind, and such a double-minded person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
9. He warned that people do not have because they do not ask, and when they ask amiss, to spend it on their own pleasures, they do not receive.

(b) Three factors that can hinder prayer.

1. Doubt and lack of faith: the double-minded person who wavers does not receive from God.
2. Wrong or selfish motives: asking to gratify one's own passions and pleasures.
3. Unconfessed sin and unrighteous living: sin separates a person from God and hinders answers.
4. Unforgiveness and broken relationships with others.
5. Pride and self-reliance instead of humble dependence on God.