Healing is something everyone wants at some time in their life. James gives us three verses that confuse many people. This section of James chapter 5 is so misused in our society that I believe it has been detrimental to many immature Christians. Some have pulled these verses out of context and promoted a gospel that is man-centered, not God-centered.
James 5:14 “Is any sick among you? 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
A man-centric faith puts the ability of the person praying as the focus of the healing. If the person praying has enough faith then God will answer his prayers and the person he is praying for will be healed. Another fault of those using this verse is that the person being healed is in control of their healing. I’ve heard people tell others that they just didn’t have enough faith or God would heal them. Both put all the power on man. Many immature Christians have been convinced by others they trust, that after they are anointed by the elders, and people pray, that they or their loved one will be healed. When the person dies their faith dies with them. I know people that have turned away from God because they are very bitter that their loved one was not healed. Someone mislead them where these verses were concerned.
We need to always keep our focus on the fact that God is the great physician and he is always in control. We are to pray, but we are to always pray in His will. It is God who determines what is best and how his will is to be accomplished.
So, what is the prayer of faith that heals the sick? I believe I John 5:14-15 gives us the answer.
I John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
The prayer of faith is a prayer offered when you know the will of God. The elders would seek the mind of God in this matter and then pray according to His will. For us to believe that he will heal in every case and that it is not his will for any Christian to be sick, are denying both Scripture and experience. But where we have the inner conviction from the Word and the Spirit that it is God’s will to heal, then we can pray “the prayer of faith” and expect God to work.
Let me also remind us that there is a perfect healing that all who are in Christ Jesus will experience one day. Not since Adam, has there been a perfect body, that was designed by the creator, to never be sick and never die. Adam and Eve took care of that when they chose to sin. From that point on, our bodies began to degenerate. Sickness entered the earth and death was pronounced.
There are some practical lessons from this section that we must not overlook. First, disobedience can lead to sickness. I Corinthians 11:30 “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Second, sin affects the whole church. We can never sin alone for sin has a way of growing and infecting others. Third, there is healing, physical and spiritual, when sin is dealt with. Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy.”
James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
The confessing that James is talking about is among believers. He is not suggesting confessing our sins to a preacher or a priest. We confess our sins first to the Lord, then we must confess them to those that have been affected by our sin.
I John I:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Sin is not to be confessed beyond the circle of that sin’s influence. Private sin requires private confession; public sin requires public confession. It is wrong for Christians to “hang out their dirty laundry” for all to see. Confessing of this nature can do more harm than good.
The progression of this verse is confession and then prayer. Not just any prayer will get results. He then tells us, the prayers that avail much are those by people who are in right standing with God. If we want our prayers to make a difference we must be right with God.
Are you sure there is nothing between you and God?
Do you pray fervently all the time or just when you have a great need?
Do you seek God’s will and not your own?
