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 have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
James 5:14-15
We started to take a deeper look at these verses in the last post. James begins by telling us that the sick person must be in agreement which is shown in the fact that they call the elders. Verse 14 does not tell us to have a loved one call in their place.
“Let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
Did you notice that the elders should pray over the sick person first. We don’t want to become too technical but in most cases I’ve seen ministers anoint the sick person and then pray. This is opposite of James’ instructions.
I do not want this to become a formula. My goal is to show that the prayer is what James emphasizes. This is important because many sick people have been healed by being anointed before being prayed for. God is merciful and honors our heart.
The main emphasis of James is on the prayer.
“Let them pray over him…”
After the prayer is offered the elders will then anoint the sick person with oil. Notice though that they are not just pouring oil over the sick person.
“…in the name of the Lord.”
So the sick person calls for the elders. They pray and then they anoint the sick person with oil in the name of Jesus. This is the pattern set by James.
So why is it important for us to go into this depth? People often wonder why they are not seeing results.
“We prayed and prayed but the person seemed to just get sicker and sicker.”
Many ministers will tell you the reason healing did not come was because it was not God’s will. They cannot provide one Scripture to validate this. I believe that this is said either because it was the way the minister was trained or because they feel pressured to provide an answer.
We serve a good God who has been misrepresented by His Church. It is His will for every person to be healed. This does not change if a person is not able to receive their healing.
When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:1-3
This is the case of a leper who came to Jesus seeking healing. The account tells us that he was settled in the fact that Jesus could heal him. His question was whether or not it was Jesus’ will to heal him. This is the same question that many people seeking healing are asking. Jesus’ answer to the leper is His answer today,
“I will, be thou clean.”
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8
I believe the issue of His will was settled with the leper. We are told in Hebrews 13:8 that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The only way it would not be His will for us to be healed today would be if this verse is wrong. God’s Word is without error so we know this is not the case.
God’s will is for the sick to live in health. He has provided many means by which we may appropriate His healing power. It is up to us to spend time meditating in the Word until it becomes revelation knowledge to fuel our faith.
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