God’s will is for you to live in health. Receiving this is the focus of our study. We finished in the last post with James instructions to the sick.
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
James tells us that the sick are to call for the elders. The elders are then to anoint him or her with oil in the Name of Jesus. Once the oil has been applied the prayer of faith will then be offered.
We spent some time looking at verse 14. The primary emphasis was the anointing of oil in Jesus name and then the prayer of faith. Let’s pick up with this in verse 15.
And the prayer of faith..
The prayer spoken over the sick shall “save” them.
What will heal the sick person? James tells us that it is the prayer of faith. It is not the anointing.
Oil is a point of contact. It does not heal the sick. I am not discounting the anointing because it is a New Testament practice. We must keep in mind though that it is not what releases the healing power.
James tells us that the prayer prayed in faith is what will heal the sick. The prayer of faith will work with or without the oil. Oil is a type of the anointing.
We anoint the sick as a point of contact. It is important that the person suffering uses their faith. Oil becomes a touch point stimulating the person being anointing to release their faith to receive from God.
A person must be in agreement with the elders to pray the prayer of faith over them. This is why James said they are the ones who are to call for the elders. God is not going to override their will.
We need to be carefully how we follow James’ instructions. Our goal is to get results. This can only happen if we follow the instructions and put our emphasis in the right place.
There is a place for the oil.
There is a place for the prayer of faith.
One is a point of contact. The other a vehicle through which the anointing is released.
Oil was used for a number of purposes in the Old Testament. The New Testament presents it as a point of contact to enable a sick person to release their faith.
So oil is a symbol. Our faith is in God not the oil. The prayer of faith is to God not the oil.
Are you hurting or sick while reading this post? James tells us that you can call on the elders of your church to anoint you and to pray the prayer of faith. This is one method of many by which you can receive healing.
And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
Mark 6:12-13
Notice that the disciples anointed the sick with oil. Healing followed. This is a method used by Jesus’ disciples during His ministry. It is also a method used in the early Church as shown by James’ instructions.
We have now reviewed four different methods to receive healing from God. We will pick up with the fifth method in our next post.
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