14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
One of the most effective and visible ministries of Jesus was His healing ministry. The needs of the people for spiritual and physical healing were immense. Jesus healed people from demonic possession, disease, and even death itself. In every case, there was always faith. In one instance, it is recorded that Jesus was unable to do many miracles because of a lack of faith. Faith was the key ingredient. And it wasn’t always the faith of the one being healed:
- A centurion’s servant was healed. Who had the faith? The centurion or the paralyzed servant?
- The son of a man who was demon possessed was healed by Jesus when the disciples could not drive it out. Who had the faith? The man, or the son?
- A Canaanite woman’s daughter who was demon possessed was healed. Who had the faith? The woman or her daughter?
- A paralyzed man was healed when his friends lowered him through a roof to give him access to Jesus. Jesus then saw THEIR faith. Not HIS faith. It was the faith of the friends that Jesus saw and responded.
In all of these cases, it was the faith of someone other than the recipient of healing whose faith prompted Jesus to respond with healing, and in some cases, even praise their faith! In that light, let’s take a look at James 5:15
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
In this case, it is the prayer of the elders offered in faith, not the person who is sick.
So, are you sick? Do you need a healing touch from God? Be obedient to God’s word: go to a Bible teaching, Bible believing church, and have the elders of that congregation anoint you with oil and pray over you, so that whatever issue you have, spiritual or physical, it will be healed; and if you have sinned, you will be forgiven. And remember that it is the faith of the elders, not yours, that will heal you. Since you have gone to them IN FAITH, IN OBEDIENCE to scripture, your faith is noted as well. And if you are still concerned, pray what the father of the demon possessed son said/prayed, “I believe – help my unbelief!”
A short prayer of preparation:
Father in Heaven, you respond to faith, for faith is the expression of our belief in You of who You are. Cleanse me this day of my unrighteousness. Forgive my sins. Bolster my faith, and help me to be obedient to Your Word, even if it doesn’t make sense to me. Father, You healed even Naaman, commander of the army of Aram, when in obedience, he washed himself seven times in the Jordan, and his leprous skin became like the skin of a young boy. You are sovereign, Lord God, and nothing is impossible for You. Remember Your servant this day. In obedience, I come to You and will do as You ask, that You may be glorified. Prepare the elders’ hearts as I go to seek them out. For You are forever faithful, doing everything that You promise. Prepare my heart now, Lord, for I know You will bring this about. This I ask in the name of Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Want more? Why not try A. B. Simpson or A. W. Tozer?
CHRIST ALLIANCE CHURCH 