“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”- James 5:13-16 NLT
The initial verse in this grouping is a further example of what I had said previously. We should pray both in hardship and when things are going well. God knows all about it already, so why must we pray? I believe prayer is for our benefit, not Gods. God knows he will answer our prayers AND he knows how and when. We do not, so waiting is designed to bolster our faith and trust. When the answer comes it acts as a sort of reward for exercising our faith and trust until that answer came. Things don’t always move quickly in God’s economy. That’s why patience is an important component with prayer.
While Jesus is the Lord over body and spirit, the sickness James speaks of in this case is physical illness. Some people feel prayer is a last resort when all earthly methods fail, but actually, the reverse is true. We should pray FIRST. God can and does use medicine, doctors and/or surgeons to bring about a total restoration of one’s body. He may choose to miraculous heal someone. There are also times when the healing comes in the form of someone passing on, which I refer to as the ULTIMATE healing. We must understand that God knows what is best for the sick individual and in heaven there is no sickness or pain, so while is it extremely difficult to part with loved ones who pass on, it is for their best that this takes place. We need to understand that all prayers are subject to God’s will.
We must remember that all prayer is to come from a sincere and humble heart. This is what is pleasing to the Lord. When you pray do you expect it to be heard and have an answer forthcoming? Don’t balk at praying and don’t doubt for doubting God’s ability to hear you and act on your behalf is the enemy of effective praying. We must pray at all times for all peoples.
As a means of clarification regarding our own righteousness, we are righteous because of our right standing with God. While we still trip up and sin from time to time, we are righteous because our faith in the Lord is credited to us as righteousness. [Genesis 3:6; 15:6; Romans 4:3 & Hebrews 6:13] The verses listed to the left speak of Abraham believing God, which is the same as placing his faith in him. That faith or belief was accounted or credited to him as righteousness. The two verses in Genesis say this very thing and the Apostle Paul quotes that verse from Genesis to make a point. We are righteous in God’s sight because of our persistent faith and trust in him. Therefore, our prayers contain great power and produce wonderful results. So, pray with confidence, because God hears you every time and he WILL answer you. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
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