IT IS AS SIMPLE AS TRUSTING IN JESUS
James 5:13-16 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
This is a very important teaching that while most pastors know it few actually do what it says certainly in the morning worship service. In some ways it is amazing how many feel threatened by what the Holy Spirit might or might not do in front of their congregation. If the person is healed supernaturally then what will they do if others are not healed. Will people leave the church if they are not healed or even turn from following Jesus? Control is so important for most pastors and denomination. It is ironic that they preach we can trust the Bible and certainly God the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus, but in reality they don’t. If they did they would do what the Bible says. It is really that simple.
Is anyone in trouble? Then they are to pray. Our prayer is a act of faith. By praying we are telling God that it is our will that his will be done. Some people are afraid to pray because if God does not answer and make them well, either it means that God doesn’t love them or God isn’t real. For those people they would sooner not face the possibilities I mentioned than being in trouble or sick. Their faith and trust in the Bible and the Lord is very weak. Much of this problem is their lack of sound Biblical doctrine. They see God in light of themselves, and not themselves in light of God. Another aspect to this is how God see’s the situation. If we have offended someone, God just may have us seek forgiveness and reconciliation before he will set our heart free of the burden the trouble brought. Sometimes Christians are not willing to humble themselves when God puts it on their heart to do so.
Is anyone happy then sing songs of praise. Strange as this may be many Christians are not willing to humble themselves to even sing to the Lord, let alone to testify to the goodness of the Lord. God does want us to praise him and share with others the good things that he has done for us. God is not asking us to make a show of it, but rather a testimony that he is worthy of.
Is anyone sick? They are to call the elders to pray over them and anoint them with oil. Once again this is a demonstration of free will. It is our obligation for us to ask for prayer and not expect the pastors or elders to ask us. While many feel unworthy or afraid they will not be healed, it is not the amount of faith we have but who we have faith in. This is why so many times children are the best people to pray for us. They are not worried about if Jesus will hear their prayer or if Jesus can do it. They just ask him like they were asking for a glass of water. They pray expecting and this is how we all should pray. Nothing is too hard for Jesus. So why is there sickness at all in the Christian community of believers? For one reason it is a way for us to demonstrate faith, trust and love in Jesus. It gives us a reason that causes us to be motivated to praise him for what he has done. Sometimes it is a matter of the freedom of creation. When we let our immune system get down it is easy for us to get sick. Other times it is because of sin in our life. God will bring sickness on us so that we will repent of sin in our life and do God’s will. So why are some people not healed. Sometimes it is a matter of God glorifying himself through our sickness. We see this in John 9:3 where a man was born blind and Jesus said it was so that the work of God might be seen in his life. And let’s face it, we are born to die. Unless we are raptured up to be with Jesus in heaven then we will die just like the apostles did. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us, or he doesn’t have the ability to heal us. God just uses it as a means to bring us home to be with him.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Then James adds that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. The reason for a righteous person praying for you is simply the reason of how the answered prayer is perceived. If a unrighteous man prays and it is answered, then people will think that being righteous really doesn’t matter. The righteous man gives a righteous incentive. God wants us to be righteous, because it is better for us and glorifies him more. In summary the best thing to do when we are in need is to ask Jesus for help. Trust in Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for all you do for us and all you want to do. Please help us to have the courage to trust you in every area of need in our life. We love you Jesus, and ask this in your holy name.
