13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
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.
James 5:13-16
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Are you a person of prayer?
Do you belong to a praying church?
Are your prayers powerful and effective?
In this passage, James devotedly and emphatically exhorts the Church to be restored to her original impulse, indelibly established in her birth (Acts 2) – the impulse for Spirit-filled prayer.
Are you in trouble? Pray! Are you happy? Sing songs of praise!
In this simple inquisition, James creates the framework of a praying Church.
Life is complex as it is. We mask our feelings before a world so quick to take advantage of weaknesses. But do we also attempt to deceive the Lord, and ourselves, in hiding our deepest feelings from Him?
How can we ever be an authentic church, if we can’t even be authentic about ourselves before God?
In every circumstance, there is an appropriate response when coming before the Lord; therefore, respond appropriately.
God knows our thoughts, our emotions and our desires even before they are formed in our souls. God knows our circumstances even before they happen in our lives. The only way to come before God is in being true to ourselves and bringing our circumstances before Him from our deepest groans to our most resounding praise.
The key is connecting with God with whatever you have, and in however you are feeling. There is no way to hide from God; so don’t bother trying.
Pray authentically.
Besides, in a world so filled with hypocrisy and spurious living, wouldn’t you think that prayer would be the most welcomed component of our lives on this side of eternity?
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.
In the praying church, no sick is left uncared for and unloved.
In the praying church, elders are constantly on hand to minister to those in need.
James hinges his theology of the healing prayer together with anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
This poses to us a new, or forgotten, spiritual reality that all prayers for healing must happen in conjunction with a divine
that must be lived out from the act of being anointed with oil.
In short, prayers for the sick are not meant for the healing of the sick to be an end to itself, but a process that will ultimately reveal the glory of God and in-break His kingdom.
In this, the sick person being prayed for, must also be anointed to be set apart from the world and all unrighteousness, and must now live solely for the Lord’s special purposes.
When we think about the anointing of the biblical heroes of old such as Samuel and David, we will begin to understand what anointing with oil in the Name of the Lord will entail for the anointed.
Both the elders and the sick seeking healing must engage in healing prayers in the awareness, acceptance and actions thereafter (of the Lord’s special and specific purposes for the anointed); that commensurate with the full spiritual reality of ‘anointing with oil before the Lord.’
This and only this, will result in the proper understanding of ‘prayers offered in faith’ that will ‘make the sick person well’; for it is the Lord who will raise them up!
Brethren, this is an important spiritual reality – always be mindful that healing prayers must coincide with anointing with oil, and a biblical understanding of what anointing entails – for this sets the stage for a praying church in becoming truly missional for our Lord Jesus Christ.
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.
Healing in the church will outflow from within, bringing God’s healing to the nations.
Deep and open spiritual relationships will be forged when mutual confessions and healing prayers that accompany anointing become the hallmark of the church.
Such deep and open spiritual relationship will usher Christ’s healing upon the church.
As the church heals, we heal.
And as we heal, we begin to live more and more fully in Christ, who is our Righteousness, and through Him, become righteous before our God. (1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Therefore in Christ, our prayers will resonate with the very heartbeat and sovereignty of God – and be known to the world as prayers that are powerful and effective.
Only through prayers that are powerful and effective, will the church be truly powerful and effective; in fulfilling Christ’s mission for us as an authentic and righteous people to the world.
Brethren, let us resolve to be powerful and effective.
Let us resolve to pray only powerful and effective prayers.
Let us resolve to be the praying church.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Restore in our spirits Your divine impulse to pray only Spirit-filled prayers – prayers that are powerful and effective.
Forgive us for our complacency in prayer, and forgive us for attempting to deceive You and ourselves.
Holy Spirit, please make us authentic in our worship and prayer. And please allow our realities to more fully understand and embrace our Father’s Sovereignty over all Creation.
Lord Jesus, we commit our church into Your hands. Teach us, lead us, guide us, mold us – that we may be wise and effective in our prayers; in-breaking Your kingdom in the world around us and bringing your healing and anointing, to those who are sick.
Holy Spirit, may You fill us with Your healing presence. We desire your healing upon us, in order that Your healing within us may be the undeniable testimony of Your Sovereign and Salvific Love.
Raise us up O God!
For those amongst us who are sick, we pray that through becoming aware, fully accepting and ready to act for the sake of the gospel, Your healing upon their lives will be ultimate and perfect – in Your divine time.
You are indeed the Lord in whom we can trust.
Use Your church O Lord, for Your glory sake!
We thank you and pray all these in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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.
James 5:13-16
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Are you a person of prayer?
Do you belong to a praying church?
Are your prayers powerful and effective?
In this passage, James devotedly and emphatically exhorts the Church to be restored to her original impulse, indelibly established in her birth (Acts 2) – the impulse for Spirit-filled prayer.
Are you in trouble? Pray! Are you happy? Sing songs of praise!
In this simple inquisition, James creates the framework of a praying Church.
- Be authentic to yourself - recognize and be true to our circumstances and conditions in life.
Life is complex as it is. We mask our feelings before a world so quick to take advantage of weaknesses. But do we also attempt to deceive the Lord, and ourselves, in hiding our deepest feelings from Him?
How can we ever be an authentic church, if we can’t even be authentic about ourselves before God?
- Be authentic to God - connect appropriately with the Lord.
In every circumstance, there is an appropriate response when coming before the Lord; therefore, respond appropriately.
God knows our thoughts, our emotions and our desires even before they are formed in our souls. God knows our circumstances even before they happen in our lives. The only way to come before God is in being true to ourselves and bringing our circumstances before Him from our deepest groans to our most resounding praise.
The key is connecting with God with whatever you have, and in however you are feeling. There is no way to hide from God; so don’t bother trying.
Pray authentically.
Besides, in a world so filled with hypocrisy and spurious living, wouldn’t you think that prayer would be the most welcomed component of our lives on this side of eternity?
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.
- In the praying church suffering is shared through reaching out to the elders of the church.
In the praying church, no sick is left uncared for and unloved.
In the praying church, elders are constantly on hand to minister to those in need.
- In the praying church, there is an understanding that prayers for the sick are really prayers of God’s anointing upon them to be set apart for His special purpose.
James hinges his theology of the healing prayer together with anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
This poses to us a new, or forgotten, spiritual reality that all prayers for healing must happen in conjunction with a divine
- Awareness;
- Acceptance; and
- Action
that must be lived out from the act of being anointed with oil.
In short, prayers for the sick are not meant for the healing of the sick to be an end to itself, but a process that will ultimately reveal the glory of God and in-break His kingdom.
In this, the sick person being prayed for, must also be anointed to be set apart from the world and all unrighteousness, and must now live solely for the Lord’s special purposes.
When we think about the anointing of the biblical heroes of old such as Samuel and David, we will begin to understand what anointing with oil in the Name of the Lord will entail for the anointed.
Both the elders and the sick seeking healing must engage in healing prayers in the awareness, acceptance and actions thereafter (of the Lord’s special and specific purposes for the anointed); that commensurate with the full spiritual reality of ‘anointing with oil before the Lord.’
This and only this, will result in the proper understanding of ‘prayers offered in faith’ that will ‘make the sick person well’; for it is the Lord who will raise them up!
Brethren, this is an important spiritual reality – always be mindful that healing prayers must coincide with anointing with oil, and a biblical understanding of what anointing entails – for this sets the stage for a praying church in becoming truly missional for our Lord Jesus Christ.
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.
Healing in the church will outflow from within, bringing God’s healing to the nations.
Deep and open spiritual relationships will be forged when mutual confessions and healing prayers that accompany anointing become the hallmark of the church.
Such deep and open spiritual relationship will usher Christ’s healing upon the church.
As the church heals, we heal.
And as we heal, we begin to live more and more fully in Christ, who is our Righteousness, and through Him, become righteous before our God. (1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Therefore in Christ, our prayers will resonate with the very heartbeat and sovereignty of God – and be known to the world as prayers that are powerful and effective.
Only through prayers that are powerful and effective, will the church be truly powerful and effective; in fulfilling Christ’s mission for us as an authentic and righteous people to the world.
Brethren, let us resolve to be powerful and effective.
Let us resolve to pray only powerful and effective prayers.
Let us resolve to be the praying church.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Restore in our spirits Your divine impulse to pray only Spirit-filled prayers – prayers that are powerful and effective.
Forgive us for our complacency in prayer, and forgive us for attempting to deceive You and ourselves.
Holy Spirit, please make us authentic in our worship and prayer. And please allow our realities to more fully understand and embrace our Father’s Sovereignty over all Creation.
Lord Jesus, we commit our church into Your hands. Teach us, lead us, guide us, mold us – that we may be wise and effective in our prayers; in-breaking Your kingdom in the world around us and bringing your healing and anointing, to those who are sick.
Holy Spirit, may You fill us with Your healing presence. We desire your healing upon us, in order that Your healing within us may be the undeniable testimony of Your Sovereign and Salvific Love.
Raise us up O God!
For those amongst us who are sick, we pray that through becoming aware, fully accepting and ready to act for the sake of the gospel, Your healing upon their lives will be ultimate and perfect – in Your divine time.
You are indeed the Lord in whom we can trust.
Use Your church O Lord, for Your glory sake!
We thank you and pray all these in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.