Is any one among you sick? 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 will save the sick man,
and the Lord will raise him up;
and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to one another,
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
James 5:14-16
Disclaimer: I am apprehensive writing about this topic because I know that I personally need healing. I for one have lots of hurt feelings and resentments that have to be healed. Added to this is my own sinful nature, I feel that I cannot write something about healing when I myself need healing. May the Lord have mercy on me and forgive me for not doing what I say.
The letter of James is one of the most practical letters in the New Testament. Tradition has it that this was written by James the rother (cousin) of the Lord. He was a devout Jew who knew scripture and was probably grew up with our Lord Jesus.
In this passage, he mentioned the act of praying twice and prayer once. He also mentioned sins twice - once for forgiveness and another time for confession of sins. We can therefore conclude that these two things: prayer and repentance are critical to healing.
Often for charismatics, we hear people speak of healing prayer. Some have the mistaken notion that the sick will be physically healed once they are prayed over. And if the person does not get well after being prayed over, the sick person will even be blamed for lack of faith. This attitude is wrong and shows insensitivity towards the sick person.
First of all, the prayer of faith here is required from the elder or the one who prays over the sick and NOT from the sick. Secondly, the results of the prayer of faith are described in this verse also: the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
The prayer of faith therefore acknowledges that God is the source of healing. The Lord will raise the sick and not the person who prayed over the sick. We do not have the power to heal - only God can heal. The prayer of faith requires humility and also trust. It submits to God and acknowledges that God knows what is best for the sick person and God will heal the sick according to what is best for the sick person. We can suggest but in the end, God has the final say.
Secondly and most important, the prayer of faith should lead the sick person to repentance. We all know that sins are forgiven ONLY if there is repentance. So if the sins of the sick person are to be forgiven, there has to be repentance. Repentance is not only being sorry for our sins, it is turning and moving towards God.
Quite interesting is the last part of the passage. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another. Notice that confession is not only required from the sick BUT also from the person who prayed over the sick. Prayer is also not only for the sick but also for the ones who prayed over the sick.
Those who prayed over the sick should also acknowledge that they too are sinners and need to repent of their sins. We too are sinners - in the same boat as the sick person we prayed over. So we too have to be humble enough to ask them for THEIR prayers. We have to realize our sinfulness so that we will not get puffed up and think that the power to heal comes from us.
May the Lord then give us his grace so that we may be humble enough to admit that we are sinners and we also need healing - so that our prayers may be prayers of faith - pleasing to him - for the glory of his name - through Jesus our Lord, Amen.
|
