Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16
The promises for healing are numerous in scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments. As God established his covenant with Israel, he promised, “There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:25-26.) David wrote, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” (Ps. 103:2-3).
In the Old Testament we see the healings of Hezekiah and Naaman. Job is healed after Satan’s assault on his health. Elijah restores life to a dead boy. Several women who were unable to have children were healed and given children. We are told in Psalm 107:20 regarding those who were suffering affliction, “He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” There are numerous other instances and promises that health would be the condition of those who loved God and kept his commandments. Even when sickness came because of rebellion, health was restored when those individuals repented. In several Messianic prophecies, God pointed to a Messiah who would bring healing to his people.
In the New Testament one of the marks of the Messiah and the Kingdom of God was the innumerable people that Jesus healed. Not only did he heal, but he gave power and authority to his followers to do so. (Mt. 10:1; Lk. 9:1; 10:8, 18-`19; Mk. 16:16-18.) The Holy Spirit gave gifts of healing to the church (1 Cor. 12:9). We are also told that by the wounds of Jesus we are healed (1 Pet. 2:24). From a natural reading of the New Testament, it seems that healing was the rule and not the exception. When someone wasn’t healed, the church searched for a reason. . It is clear that God’s heart and will for his people is health. Jesus said if we have seen him, we have seen the Father. Jesus healed out of love and compassion. So does the Father.
Then we come to James and the passage at the beginning of this blog. If anyone is in trouble he should pray. If anyone is happy they should sing. These are responses of the individual to God. But when it comes to healing, we are instructed to call others to pray over us. In this case, we are instructed to call the elders or the spiritually mature to pray over us. He doesn’t say keep it to yourself and plead with God.
I think there are several lessons we might garner from this text. One is that God desires interdependence among his people. Paul uses the analogy of the body and different parts of the body with different functions in reference to the church. We aren’t the same as the others and we can’t get along without the other parts. We might live, but we will not be all we could be. In the same way, he gives different spiritual gifts to the church. Where I have a weakness, I need someone else’s gift to operate in my life through that person and vice-versa. We need one another and God often answers our prayers and meets our needs through his people. I am blessed by others and they are blessed by me.
We must note that James instructs us to call on others, especially when we are sick. He also directs elders to anoint us and pray over us and declares the prayer of faith will raise up the sick person. This does not always promise immediate healing, but that healing will come. Notice the faith in this passage is the faith of those who are praying, not necessarily the one who is being prayed for. He goes on to say, if he has sinned, he will be forgiven and healed. Sometimes illness comes to us because of unconfessed and unrepented sin. That is not the only source of sickness, but it can be and someone needs to be there to hear a confession and pray for forgiveness. James tells us. “Confess your sins one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed” (Ja. 5:16). The word translated as sin can also mean failure, fault or error. The corollary of that verse is that if you don’t confess and have others pray for you, you won’t be healed.
The value of involving others is the power of multiplied prayers. Jesus declared, “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Mt. 18:19-20). In addition, when you have shared a spiritual struggle with others, they can continue to support you as you overcome that issue in your life. Confessing sins or weaknesses is humbling, but it is the humble whom God raises up.
God has designed the body of Christ so that we need one another. We are not made to function spiritually as Lone Rangers isolated from the body claiming that we need only God, because it is through the body that many of our prayers will be answered and many of our needs will be met.
This doesn’t mean we never pray for our own healing, but that our prayer will be more effective when coupled with others. And, if sin is the root of the illness, I definitely need others involved. There are also times I need to borrow faith from another believer. If I am very sick that may be especially true. So, when you are sick, involve other believers. Call on someone…an elder, a believer with healing gifts, or simply a brother or sister with faith. James suggests that God has made healing a team sport, and not just an individual enterprise…so don’t try to go it alone. Be blessed and be healed.
