{"id":6399,"date":"2015-04-20T00:05:34","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T00:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6399"},"modified":"2015-04-20T14:50:44","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T14:50:44","slug":"james-514-15-a-word-to-the-sick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6399","title":{"rendered":"James 5:14-15\u2014A word to the sick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.<\/em> James 5:14-15<\/span><\/p>\n

Is anyone among you sick? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Sickness. Its oppressive grip was rampant in James’ day, and despite today\u2019s “miracle” of modern medicine, it remains one of humanity’s most vicious foes. In contrast, the topic of healing is all over the Bible, and the good news is this: God specifically saw fit to include your healing and mine in the atoning work of Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact that sickness still stalks the earth in our time does not negate the truth that the apostle Peter so eloquently shared in his first letter, borrowing from Isaiah 53: \u201c\u2026and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed<\/em>\u201d (1 Peter 2:24). \u00a0Matthew\u2019s gospel also borrowed from the same chapter: \u201cWhen evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: \u2018He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases\u2019<\/em>\u201d (Matthew 8:16-17). The bottom line is this: By the wounds of Jesus you were healed, just as you were saved due to His atoning death and triumphant resurrection. You access both\u2014<\/em>healing and<\/em> salvation\u2014<\/em>the same way: By grace, through faith in Jesus (see Ephesians 2:8).<\/span><\/p>\n

So what do you do if you are<\/em> sick, and despite praying, you just can’t seem to shake it? James gave clear instructions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him\u2026 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re sick, it is very appropriate to request prayer from the leadership in your church. In fact, James wrote \u201che must <\/strong>call\u201d,<\/em> lending urgency to his instructions. Don\u2019t neglect that important aspect of church life if you are struggling with symptoms. Sure, see a doctor; but get the big guns of pastoral prayer behind you as well as you seek your healing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026anointing him with oil\u2026 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Why oil? Oil represents the anointing of God, and it is a tangible, physical sign to you of your stand of faith. If symptoms persist or come back, you have a point of reference from which to position yourself; you can declare to your body, your mind, the devil, and the Lord: \u201cI called for the elders of the church and they prayed over me, anointing me with oil in the name of the Lord. I\u2019ve done my part, and I\u2019m sticking with it. God, You are faithful to stick with Your part, and devil, in the name of Jesus, you must stick to your part\u2014to flee from me. And good news, body\u2014you get to stick with your part\u2014to be wonderfully healed, you blessed thing!\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026in the name of the Lord\u2026<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When the leaders pray over you, they will pray in the name of Jesus, that name which is above every name. At His name, every knee must bow; every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (see Philippians 2:9-11). And it\u2019s not just physical knees that have to bow\u2014every spiritual<\/em> knee must bow as well. You hold fast to His name; those symptoms are subject to the name of Jesus, and to His name they must bow.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up\u2026<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Much has been said about the prayer of faith. One thing that the prayer of faith was never meant to be is a club to beat you over the head with as inadequate or defective when your prayers are yet to be manifested. No, that’s the devil’s<\/em> scam; don\u2019t dance with him to that tune.<\/span><\/p>\n

A note about symptoms\u2014they come and they go. I am learning not to ask my symptoms if I am healed. I have all the information I need on the topic straight from God\u2019s Word. I know that the Lord is the Healer; I trust Him to work mightily in my mortal body as I look to Him. Again\u2014don’t be afraid or ashamed to seek out a doctor; just make sure you also get the full-force of the Word and the prayer of faith behind you with every symptom you face.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord is in the restoration business. The prayer offered in faith is designed to restore you and raise you up. Don’t shy away from receiving prayer for your body due to fear that it won’t work; it is written that the prayer offered in faith will restore you<\/em>. Again, don’t ask your body<\/em> if that prayer is working\u2014take God<\/em> at His Word, and trust that He’s<\/em> working inside of you. When you are raised up out of that sickness, He will get the glory\u2014and you’ll be the picture of health.<\/span><\/p>\n

…and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

God is so good. Sometimes\u2014but not all the time\u2014we bring sickness on ourselves with unwise\u00a0 or ungodly choices. Here’s the good news: if you have committed sin\u2014even if your actions opened the door for you to get sick\u2014that sin will be forgiven you. What wonderful relief! The powerful one-two punch of this kind of prayer is that you get to watch the door slam shut on both the sickness and<\/em> the sin\u2014and you get freed from both.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you sick? Don’t hesitate any longer. Call for the elders of the church and have them anoint you with oil in the name of Jesus. That prayer, offered in faith, will restore you\u2014and the Lord will raise you up. And bonus\u2014if you’ve committed any sins, they will be forgiven you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/span><\/p>\n

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases<\/em>…Psalm 103:2-3<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[126,125,130,124,127,128,129],"class_list":["post-6399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-5","tag-anointing-with-oil","tag-call-for-the-elders-of-the-church","tag-if-he-has-committed-sins-they-will-be-forgiven-him","tag-is-anyone-sick","tag-prayer-offered-in-faith","tag-restore-the-sick","tag-the-lord-will-raise-him-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6399"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6404,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399\/revisions\/6404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}