Whenever one speaks of healing in Christian circles, it brings to mind a well know passage of Scripture in James chapter five. This passage outlines steps of obedience the Christian is to follow in offering God the opportunity to heal if He chooses. God is The Healer and Scripture is clear on this point but God does not always choose to heal even when the steps in James have been followed. We must always remember God’s ways are higher than our ways but He never makes a mistake. He is always to be trusted. Now, listen to the Word of the Lord in James 5:14-16:
“13. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises. 14. 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; 15. 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. 16. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
Notice that James, the Lord’s half brother, gives the same advice for both the one “suffering” (vs. 13) and the one doing well (“cheerful”); take it to the Lord. That is really the key in all we do as Christians. Our entire life is to be centered in the Lord. He wants us to share our sorrows and joys with Him. He longs for our fellowship and daily communion. Further, He is the God who can transform troubles into triumphs, scars into stars and sicknesses into heath. He can find a way when there is no way. Prayer can remove the problem we face or give us the grace of God to endure it. Job 35:10 says God “…gives songs in the night…” And Psalm 34:15 says, “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.” Certainly this was the case of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25. In prison, they sang praises to God after being severely beaten for their faith. God had taught them how to sing while in the midst of suffering. Thus, James answers his own question in verse 13: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.” James is saying if you are experiencing calamity, hardship or trouble in your life right now you are to pray. Notice, he does not say we are to complain which is often our tendency—we are to pray.
But notice in verse 14, the steps of obedience for one who is sick are more involved. Why? Because healing often involves much more than the eradication of a physical illness. For example, disobedience to God can lead to sickness. In verse 14, the Greek word for “sick” means “weakness produced by sickness” or “to be without strength.” The Apostle Paul certainly implies this in 1 Cor. 11:30 when he says, “for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” because of sin. Listen to the words of David in Psalm 32:3-4: “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Therefore, realizing the impact of sickness on the physical, emotional and spiritual body, James puts into place steps of obedience, which offer God the opportunity to heal if He chooses.
The first step in the healing process is TO CALL. James says earlier in his book, “…yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:2-3) In verse 14, James clearly puts the initiative on the person in need (“….he must call for the elders of the church”) of healing. It is the sick person’s responsibility to “call for the elders” who are the spiritual leaders and those in charge of discipline in the local church. They are to pray for the sick person anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. This also tells me this is the function of the local church not a faith healer. I cannot find in the Bible where God instructs the believer in the church to send for a faith healer.
The second step in the healing process is TO CONFESS. The confession of sins is vitally linked and essential to the healing process. The Bible says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps. 66:18). Listen again to James’ words in verses 15-16: “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. 16. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” The reference to sins being forgiven seems to add to the idea that James is considering a spiritual work and healing, not necessarily a physical and emotional healing. It is intimated that some particular sin was the cause of this person’s sickness.
The phrase “and if he has committed sins” can be interpreted literally “if he has been constantly sinning.” Again, the Apostle Paul certainly seems to imply this in 1 Cor. 11:30: “for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” because of sin. Likewise, Proverbs 28:13 advises, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Finally, David said in the Psalms: “I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32:5) Given these truths from Scripture, it seems James is implying there is a healing when sin is dealt with. Thus, it makes sense if sin caused your illness, there is evidence in your healing that your sins have been forgiven.
The great thing therefore we should plead of God for ourselves and others in the time of sickness is the forgiveness of sin. Sin is often both the root of sickness and the sting of it. We must say as Hezekiah did: “Thou hast, in love to my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption” (Isa. 38:17). When you are sick and in pain, it is most common to pray and cry, “O Lord please ease my pain! O Lord please heal me and restore me to health!” But your prayer and mine should rather and chiefly be, “O that God would pardon my sins!”
James also reminds us in verse 16 that confession releases God’s power. Confession to God brings the power of forgiveness but confession to man brings the power of healing. But we must never confess sin beyond the circle of sin’s influence and the confession required in verse 16 is that of Christians to one another, and not, as some interpret it, to a priest. The principle here is simple. Private sin should be dealt with in private confession and public sin in public confession. Such mutual confession and prayer bring healing, both physically, emotionally and spiritually. It frees us from the heavy burdens (physically, emotionally and spiritually) of sin not dealt with, and puts us in line with the powerful workings of the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord!
The third step in the healing process is TO BE ANOINTED. This anointing with oil in the name of the Lord as described in verse 14 has been interpreted as either seeking the best medical attention possible for one sick (oil massages were considered medicinal), or as an emblem of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. Anointing the sick with oil is also mentioned in Mark 6:13 and Luke 10:34. Mark 6:13 says, “And they cast out many devils and anointing with oil many that were sick and healed them.” Luke 10:34 says, “And (he) went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” As in these verses, James mentions the application of the oil in a medicinal sense. The Greek word used in verse 14 for “anointing” is “aleipho.” It is used in the above verses and Revelation 3:18 in a medicinal sense. Thus, it can mean using available means for healing along with asking the Lord for his divine touch.
God does use human instruments for healing in Scripture. For example, Dr. Luke in Colossians 4:14 is referred to as “the beloved physician”, the Apostle Paul advises Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23: “Drink no longer water but use a little wine for thy stomach sake and thine often infirmities.” And the prophet Isaiah is the instrument the Lord uses in Hezekiah’s healing as recorded in 2 Kings 20:7: “Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.”
The word for “anointing” in verse 14 is not the Greek word “chrio” which is holy consecrating oil or the anointing of Christ. Regardless, in each case it is not the anointing oil that heals but God. God is the Healer and it is in His name (“the name of the Lord”) this act of obedience is performed. God can outright heal or work with current means of medicine if He chooses. Thus, the Christian places reliance not only in the natural means available to man, but first and foremost places his trust in God. It is God who can outright heal the one sick or work through the means available and render them effectual if He chooses. That is what the “anointing” does—it recognizes God’s sovereign power to do as he chooses for His glory.
The final step in the healing process is THE PRAYER OFFERED IN FAITH. James states in verse 15, “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.” What is the prayer of faith? I believe it is prayer that is offered when you know the will of God. Listen to the words of 1 John 5:14-15: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” Clearly God does not grant immediate healing for every prayer of faith; yet many people are not healed simply because there is no prayer of faith offered up. There must be faith both in the person praying and in the person prayed for. In a time of sickness, it is not the cold and formal prayer that is effectual but the prayer of faith.
There is tremendous power available in the prayer of faith. The last part of verse 16 says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Effective prayer must be fervent, not because we must emotionally persuade a reluctant God but because we must gain God’s heart by being fervent for the things for which He is fervent. A “righteous man” is not a perfect man but one who is in right relationship with God and desires to do His will. His faith is demonstrated both in words and deeds. Remember the faith of a mustard seed can command a mountain to move and it will be moved. Thus, praying for the sick is to pray with humble confidence that they will be healed, unless god clearly and sovereignty has made it clear that this is not His will; and then we must leave the matter to God.
So, when praying we must not look to the merit of man, but to the wondrous grace of God. It is the grace of God that strengthens and sustains us. Paul said to the believers at Corinth: “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” (2 Cor. 6:1) What a joy that God would allow us to be workers together with him, especially, in the healing process. Only He allows the grace of God to work mightily in and through us for His glory!
