In 5:16b-18 James says, “An operating petition of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man of like feeling with us, and in prayer he prayed that it should not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.” The words “in prayer he prayed” indicate that a prayer from the Lord was given to Elijah, in which he prayed. He did not pray in his feeling, thought, intention, mood, or in any kind of motivation from circumstances or situations for the fulfilling of his own purpose. He prayed in the prayer given him by the Lord for the accomplishing of His will.
In verse 16 James speaks of the operating petition of a righteous man. This indicates that in praying for the sick, we need to pray in the way of an operating petition. This means that we should not pray without a burden. Rather, we need to pray as Elijah prayed.
In verse 17 James says that in prayer Elijah prayed that it should not rain. In other words, Elijah prayed in a prayer. The King James Version says that Elijah prayed earnestly. However, to pray in a prayer actually does not mean to pray earnestly. James does not tell us that Elijah prayed in earnestness; he says that Elijah prayed in a prayer.
What is the meaning of this expression, to pray in a prayer? The prayer that Elijah prayed was great, for he prayed that it would not rain on earth for three years and six months. This is much greater than praying for the healing of a sick person. After three and a half years, Elijah prayed again, this time praying that heaven would give rain. Elijah could pray in this way because God gave him a prayer, because God burdened him with a prayer. In other words, Elijah had the burden to pray in a particular way, and that burden was a prayer given to him by God.
We should not pray according to our memory, observation, or our own burden. On the contrary, we must have a burden from God to pray for a certain thing, just as Elijah was burdened with the prayer given to him by God. God gave Elijah a prayer, and in that prayer Elijah prayed. This is not a matter of praying in earnest. It is a matter that God, in His move and according to His plan, gave Elijah a prayer, and Elijah was burdened to pray the prayer that God gave him. Therefore, Elijah prayed in a prayer.
In 5:19 and 20 James goes on to say, “My brothers, if anyone among you is led astray from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.” This may imply that the sick one in verse 14 was led astray from the truth and needed to be turned back.
According to the context of these two verses, the sinner in verse 20 is not an unbelieving sinner but a believing brother who has been led astray from the truth and is turned back from his error to the truth. Hence, the salvation of his soul does not refer to the eternal salvation of the person, but refers to the dispensational salvation of his soul from the suffering of physical death under God’s discipline.
First Peter 1:5 and Hebrews 10:39 are also related to the saving of the soul. The salvation in 1 Peter 1:5 is not salvation from eternal perdition, but salvation of our souls from the dispensational punishment of the Lord’s governmental dealing. Hebrews 10:39 speaks of the gaining of the soul. At the time we believed in the Lord Jesus and were saved, our spirit was regenerated with the Spirit of God (John 3:6). But we must wait until the Lord Jesus comes back for our body to be redeemed, saved, and transfigured (Rom. 8:23-25; Phil. 3:21). As to the saving, or gaining, of our soul, it depends upon how we deal with it in following the Lord after we are saved and regenerated. If we would lose it now for the Lord’s sake, we shall save it (Matt. 16:25; Luke 9:24; 17:33; John 12:25; 1 Pet. 1:9), and it will be saved, or gained, at the Lord’s coming back. This will be a reward to the overcoming followers of the Lord (Matt. 16:22-28).
In 1:21 James speaks of the saving of our souls. The salvation of our souls, according to the context of that chapter, implies the endurance of environmental trials (vv. 2-12) and the resisting of lustful temptation (vv. 13-21). James’ view concerning the salvation of our soul is somewhat negative and not as positive as that of Paul who says that our soul can be transformed by the renewing Spirit even to the image of the Lord from glory to glory (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23; 2 Cor. 3:18).
In 5:20 the saving of the soul from death is not a matter of salvation from eternal perdition. Rather, it is a matter of dispensational discipline by physical death (1 John 5:16). In verse 20 “from death” should equal “raise...up” in verse 15.
In verse 20 James says that the one who saves a soul from death will also cover a multitude of sins. “Cover a multitude of sins” is an Old Testament expression (Psa. 32:1; 85:2; Prov. 10:12) used by James to indicate that to turn an erring brother back is to cover his sins so that he is not condemned. “Cover...sins” should equal “sins...forgiven” in verse 15, as in Psalm 32:1 and 85:2. The sins in 5:20 are the sins committed by the erring brother, which brought forth death to him (1:15).
Some writers have suggested that in 5:19 and 20 James is talking about the salvation of a lost sinner. They claim that the sinner here is a lost one, that the saving of the soul is a matter of soul-winning, and that death equals eternal death, that is, eternal perdition. This interpretation is not correct. In verse 19 James is speaking to brothers and concerning anyone among the brothers who may be led astray from the truth and then turned back to the truth. This indicates that such a one formerly was in the truth. If he had not been in the truth, how could he have been led astray from the truth? Since he has been led astray from the truth, he must have previously been in the truth. Furthermore, verse 20 speaks of a sinner being turned back from the error of his way. This also indicates that once he was in the truth, that he has been led astray from the truth, and that now he is returning to the truth. Certainly this does not refer to an unsaved sinner. Yes, in verse 20 James uses the word “sinner,” because in the sight of God a misled believer is temporarily a sinner. His being led astray is a matter of sinning. Hence, because he has been led astray, he becomes a sinner for the time being. Therefore, to bring him back to the truth is to bring a sinner back to the truth. This sinner, therefore, is a backslidden brother.