A Prayer of Faith

In this passage, James shoots down the underlying assumptions of our prayerlessness by showing us that we do not have life under control and that prayer actually works.

Sermon Outline:

I. Prayer Sometimes Leads to Healing.

II. Healing is Sometimes Connected to Forgiveness.

III. The Prayer of the Righteous is Always Powerful.

Sermon Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree that we often don’t pray because we feel self-sufficient?

What makes you feel you don’t need prayer in your life?

2. When you are sick or suffering, do you take that as a prompt to pray? If not, what tends to be your typical response?

3. Have you ever experienced a time when confessing sin led to spiritual or even physical healing? What was that like?

4. James suggests a connection between sickness and sin. How do you reconcile this connection in today’s context? How can we recognize sin as a potential cause of illness without overspiritualizing every sickness?

5. Do you think of prayer as actually changing outcomes in real ways? Why or why not? How might this passage shift your assumptions?