Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

Greek suggests that what James has in mind is the presentation of requests. It
can best be translated as “petition” or “supplication” (Mitton, 206).
These prayers are so powerful that pardon can and will be secured for
the sins committed, whether they are of sins of commission or omission (Mk.
2:5; Lk. 7:48). This, in turn, leads to healing! The aim is not the “healing of
the community” (contra Johnson, 335), but the healing of the individual sick.
That the community will be edified in the process stands to reason. But this is
the byproduct rather than the goal.
Incidentally, this “byproduct” has two aspects. For one, the congregation
naturally takes heart when God moves as a result of its prayer. But there is
more. When James informs his readers that “the active (energized, energetic,
ardent) prayer of a righteous man (with the force of an earnest spirit) is very
powerful (in its effectiveness)” (See Laws, 234; Dibelius, 256; Stulac, 184-
185; Manton, 463; Martin, 211; see also Zodhiates, III, 195), 377 selfexamination
on the part of the congregation appears inevitable. Its prayers are
only a means to an end, rather than a cause to an effect. But they will not be
used as means, unless they are cradled in righteousness and marked by liveliness,
energy and fervency (Laws, 234). So it can be anticipated that the congregation
will be zealous in the pursuit of both righteousness and “inspired”
prayer! When the foundation of righteousness is in place, such prayer has
note that during times of heavy persecution and frequent apostasies the church appointed
penitentiary elders to receive the apostates back into the fold. However, they never claimed to
have authority to forgive sins, in the recognition that only God can do so (Ps. 32:5; Is. 43:25;
Dan. 9:9; Mic. 7:18; 1 John 1:9). Zodhiates concludes with an exegesis of Mathew 18:18 and
John 20 to expose the illegitimacy of the practices of the Roman Church.
377 The Greek word in view here is energoumene. The verb form can be either in the passive
(“with greater emphasis upon the activity of God”) or the middle voice (with “attributive”
connotation) (Brosend, 155). According to Burdick, 187, if it is passive the prayer is said to
be “energized (by the Spirit).” If it is middle it must be taken in the transitive sense and combined
with the adverb “much” (polu) in the beginning of the sentence. In that case the prayer
is said to have “powerful effects,” or to be “very powerful in its effectiveness.” To Dibelius,
256, it is a passive present participle. Literally “made effective,” from his perspective it is best
translated as an adjective, “energetic,” “ardent,” with a reference to Genesis 32:26 and Hos.
12:4. Manton, 463, also translates it as an adjective but adds that this verse provides us with
three qualifications, the qualification of the nature of prayer (energetic, ardent), of the subject
of prayer (righteous), and of the effect of prayer (much). Zodhiates, III, 195, opts for the middle
voice (with Moo, 246; Johnson, 335), translates it with “self-energizing,” and distinguishes
between dunamis, potential power and energeia, operative power. The latter concept,
which is always predicated of God except in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 11, is said to enter into the
present picture. To me it seems preferable in the context to opt for the passive use, and to
translate energoumene with either energetic (ardent) or energized. This is the reason why it is
“quite powerful.” The full translation, then, is either “The prayer of a righteous man is very
powerful in its effect” (middle voice) or “The energetic/energized prayer of a righteous man is
very powerful” (passive voice). In spite of my preference, it is basically a “toss-up.”
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