Faithful Prayer Series

God calls us to something different. The Body of Christ, those who follow Jesus as the boss of their lives, experiences life within a context of fellowship, community and corporate responsibility. This is why no healthy Christian exists who is not part of a local body of other Christ followers. If you amputate a finger and set it on the table alone for a year it would no longer be a part of your body. It would be rotten.

The two illustrations James uses underscore this truth. Illness and the need for confession of sin are community occurrences.

Prayer is a powerful thing. Healing is wonderful. But it’s not the oil or hands but prayer that heals. Prayer makes the difference. Anointing and hands are important only in so much that they are outward signs of the prayer going forth. Jesus makes that clear that sin and illness are not a natural link. But that doesn’t mean it is never linked. We can think of times in our own lives when our sins have caused us to become sick or have caused others to become ill.

For this reason, James tells us that mutual confession is part of the process of healing for those who follow Jesus. This goes beyond difficult for it invades the most private parts of our lives. It is more than airing our dirty laundry, it is confess and "PRAY" for one another. Why, as we confess and pray we are humbled. Our own lives are laid bare and we know we are in no position to judge others. We know the reality of the sin of others because of the sin in our own lives. Notice how healing is directly linked to this confessing and prayer.

I am still not sure if James is talking about the elders being the righteous ones or someone else with a mature faith. All I know is that there is something about their prayer life that lets you know you are in the presence of God. Thus the great news for us is that, "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." God works through those who are righteous to bring healing to those who are ill as well as forgiveness.

Let me quickly say something about praying and healing. God does not heal everyone we pray for and it has little to do with the amount of our prayers, our belief that God can heal or the sorrow we feel when we think of losing that person. Healing takes place in God’s timing and in God’s way.

Be honest and we know our motives are skewed as we pray for healing for someone we love. It should be skewed; we’re in love with that person. We don’t want to lose them. We don’t want to be alone. We don’t want to hurt. Notice it’s all about "we". God does reach down, suspends the natural order of things and brings about extraordinary healing. Dr. McDaniels in Abilene told me that the longer he practiced medicine the more he believed in miracles.

God also uses the normal means of healing that he hard wired into our bodies. Doctors, surgery, chemo and the rest have the ability to help our body heal and God uses those gifts. Lastly, God heals those who know Christ by calling them home. By the way, that is the only healing that is permanent.