“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.”
Healing
The Bible is clear that Jesus heals the sick. “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”” The book of Hebrews declares, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Today, Christ is still healing people.
In this verse James highlights three issues that are important in the ministry of healing.
Faith
When praying for the sick, faith is essential. We can’t please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Without faith there is little hope of the ill person making a recovery. Faith was an issue in the ministry of Jesus when it came to healing the sick. On a visit to His home town Jesus was faced with cynicism that made the atmosphere inhospitable to faith. “Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” (Mark 6:4-6) In this verse from James, the emphasis is on the elders to have and exercise faith when praying for the sick. If you don’t believe a person will be healed when you pray for them, don’t bother praying. Of course, if a person is not healed you cannot just assume that the elders lacked faith! But it is a possibility.
Sin
Another issue mentioned here is that of sin. James says that in the context of being prayed for, the ill person must deal with sin in their life. What has sin got to do with being ill? In a general sense, all sickness is the direct result of sin. Before Adam sinned in Eden there was no sickness. Adam’s sin brought corruption, and disease is one of the consequences of that sin. In a more specific case, the sin of the individual can bring about sickness. For example, the incredible increase in STDs in our contemporary society is a result of sexual immorality. Obesity (what the Bible call ‘gluttony’) is the cause of many ailments. Failure to observe a Sabbath rest is the cause of much stress and heart disease. Bitterness is the cause of high blood pressure and other related problems. If sin is involved, prayer will not be enough. Repentance is required in order to receive healing and maintain health. Again, if a person is not healed you cannot just assume that the sick person has sin in their life! But it is a possibility.
Sovereignty
The wonderful promise of this verse is that if we obey God and do what the Bible says, the Lord will raise the sick person up. Ultimately, it is not the elders who heal. Jesus heals. Healing is a miraculous work of sovereignty on God’s part. Healing is not the result of a system of faith. It is received as a gift of grace from a loving Saviour.
Jesus heals the sick. Let our faith rise as we think about what the Bible says.
