“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (James 5:13-18. ESV)The importance and extent of prayer are highly emphasized in this “prayer of faith” passage. Devout Christians believe in and practice prayer. When the disciples asked Jesus (Himself a man of prayer) how to pray, He taught them what we know as the Lord’s Prayer, but more rightly should be called the Disciple’s Prayer. It is our pattern for how to pray. James emphasizes areas of life that need—require—prayer. Suffering of any kind, be it physical, emotional, economic, illness, pain—then pray! Is one happy, cheerful? Then praise God! Is anyone sick? Call together the elders, let them anoint the sick one with oil, and pray. God will hear and heal. My husband and I had a devout elderly pastor friend in the mountains who practiced this anointing with oil. The youth choir I directed went on deputation to sing at this pastor’s church. We witnessed him anointing-with-oil and praying at the end of the service for one who was ill. Because that pastor believed, the people whom he anointed believed, and they prayed earnestly, some amazing healings occurred. I remember one, in particular, where cancer was diagnosed. Further tests proved the cancer cells had disappeared. Today, many of our churches have Prayer Teams who intercede for any who have prayer requests. Prayer is a vital and needful ministry. Alfred Lord Tennyson, great British poet, wrote: “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” Spiritually sick? We all commit sin. James says we are to confess our sins one to the other and pray for forgiveness and it will be granted. This passage in no way indicates that we have license to share publicly that which would harm persons, or spread gossip about them. But sin is soul-sickness. We need to be healed of this malady that separates us from God’s forgiveness and His power in our lives. Note that this confession is in the context of praying for the sick and the confession of sins by the sick person to the elders. Then James gave the example of Elijah and the great influence he had through prayer. We have but to remember the account of Elijah, the prophets of Baal and the victory of God over paganism on Mt. Carmel (see I Kings 18). This came after a long draught—no rain for 3 ½ years. We could think of the draught symbolically, , as a nation in great need of prayer because of the evil practices and ungodly leaders (and citizens) that need to wake up and turn to God. Great power lies in prayer. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b. NIV). We all need the healing balm of prayer. Our nation needs it. Let us therefore pray in faith, believing.
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, October 28, 2010
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