Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

"THE PRAYER OF FAITH"

1. The words of our text are a part:
   1. Of the instruction James gives relative to divine healing
   2. What to do in case of illness
2. He directs the sick:
   1. To the church
   2. And the church elders for intercessory prayer

1. Faith - what is it?
   1. Writes Paul, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" - Heb. 11:1
   2. Faith is the ground, or confidence in the goodness of God, the power of persuasion to call on Him in the hour of need; Examples: Elijah and Israel - I Kings 18; the troubled mother and her daughter - Matt. 15:22-28; blind Bartimaeus Matt. 10:46-52
   3. Said the Psalmist, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" - Ps. 27:13
2. The basis of the prayer of faith:
   1. The word of God - Rom. 10:14-17
   2. The promises of God - Jer. 33:3
   3. The absolute integrity of God - "has he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good" - Num. 23:19
   4. Says Jesus, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away" - Matt. 24:35
3. The ground of the prayer of faith:
   1. Not our own worthiness, but the Lords compassion - writes the Psalmist, "But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity" - Ps. 78:38
   2. That was the basis of Christ healing the sick - Matt. 20:34; Mark 5:19; 9:22
   3. Our need, and not our fancy - 2 Kings 5; Luke 23:8

1. It availeth much - because it is Christ-centered:
   1. That was true in the experience of the Centurion - Matt. 8:8-10
   2. It was true in the experience of the penitent thief on the cross - Luke 23:38-44
   3. It was true in the life of the woman with the blood disease - Matt. 9:20-22
2. It availeth much:
   1. Because it is according to the will of God - I John 3:22-23
   2. Because it has the honor and glory of God in view; Examples: Here is where Moses and Aaron failed - Num. 20:1-13; that is where Elijah glorified the Lord I Kings 18:31-39; that, too, is where David brought new hope to faint-hearted army of Israel - I Sam. 17:45-50
3. The prayer of faith in action:
   1. Paul refers us to "a cloud of witnesses," who dramatized the power of energized faith - Heb. 11
   2. Note a few outstanding examples of the power of the prayer of faith; (i) Peter about to lose his life by drowning - Matt. 14:30-31; (ii) Elisha dividing the steam by smiting the water with his garment - 2 Kings 2:14; (iii) Jochebed preparing an ark to save Moses - Ex. 2:1-9
4. Are our prayers energized - motivated by simple child-like faith:
   1. In God
   2. In His word
   3. In His promises
   4. In the reasonableness of our requests
5. Do we pray because we have faith in God; that He will hear and answer our prayers:
   1. These are no idle questions, but they are the measure of our prayer
   2. If and when our prayers are feeble and ineffective, let us search our hearts, let us examine the basis of our faith and follow the law of prayer as outlines in the word of God