信心的禱告
雅各書五章13至20節
13你們中間有受苦的呢，他就該禱告；有喜樂的呢，他就該歌頌。
14你們中間有病了的呢，他就該請教會的長老來；他們可以奉主的名用油抹他，為他禱告。
15出於信心的祈禱要救那病人，主必叫他起來；他若犯了罪，也必蒙赦免。
16所以你們要彼此認罪，互相代求，使你們可以得醫治。義人祈禱所發的力量是大有功效的。
17以利亞與我們是一樣性情的人，他懇切禱告，求不要下雨，雨就三年零六個月不下在地上。
18他又禱告，天就降下雨來，地也生出土產。
19我的弟兄們，你們中間若有失迷真道的，有人使他回轉，
20這人該知道：叫一個罪人從迷路上轉回便是救一個靈魂不死，並且遮蓋許多的罪。
信息分享
雅各給予我們的最後一項提醒，是關於禱告的大能和果效。他藉著以利亞的例子來告訴我們，以利亞跟我們一樣是普通人，但是，他因為憑著信心向神禱告，所以得著神的應允，按他所求的成就。因此，我們若同樣憑著信心向神禱告，應該也一樣得到神的應允。
然而，我們的禱告確實會出現阻礙。那就是罪所造成的障礙──尤其是信徒之間互相得罪對方。雅各勸告我們，要趕快彼此認罪，互相代求；當認罪之後，我們將驚訝地發覺禱告又再暢通無阻。
雅各也教導我們藉著為病者禱告，來使他得著醫治。然而，有些人卻曲解這裡的教訓，認為患病的人未能痊癒，是因為他沒有足夠的信心。這完全是歪曲了真理。
神有時讓我們患病，甚或是長期抱病，是要讓我們在軟弱中經歷祂的恩典。歷世歷代的信徒，包括使徒保羅，也經歷過這種磨練，然而，他們仍能見證神的恩典。
無論如何，我們都應該為患病的肢體代禱，甚至是全教會的會眾一同為他禱告。神往往會垂聽我們同心合意的祈禱，讓病者痊癒。這時，我們就一定不可忘記將榮耀歸給神。
最後，雅各提醒我們，不可忘記自己有責任去看顧其他信徒，特別是當肢體陷入罪中的時候，更要設法將他挽回，幫助他尋求基督的赦免。這才是真正實踐基督徒的愛心，以及過真正的相交生活。
THE PRAYER OF FAITH
James 5: 13-20
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And 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.
16 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.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Message
The last challenge James gives us centres around prayer. He reminds us of the mighty power of prayer and uses the story of Elijah to tell us what God will do when we pray in faith. He also reminds us that Elijah was a man just like we are. Therefore there is no reason why we couldn't have the same results when we pray.
There is one thing, however, that can stand in a way of answers to prayer. That is sin, particularly sin against a fellow believer. James says 'get that kind of sin taken care of and you will be surprised how much difference it will make.’
James also speaks about the healing of the sick through prayer. Some people have made up a cruel thought out of these verses, saying that if you are not healed it is because you don’t have enough faith. Nothing could be further from the truth.
God sometimes allows sickness to come and even remain, so that in those circumstances we might learn about his grace in a new way. That was the case with Paul and it has been so with many of God's saints through the ages.
But we certainly should pray for those who are sick. The whole church should pray for them. Very often God does raise up the one we have prayed for. Then we need to remember to give him the glory.
James finishes with a reminder of our duty toward one another, especially to a fellow believer who has fallen into sin. The most wonderful thing we can do for that person is to point them to the way of forgiveness in Christ. That is Christian love in action and Christian fellowship at its best.