​Praying for the Sick (5:14–16)

Example #2: ​Praying for the Sick (5:14–16)

I don't believe James provided us with a universal approach to healing the sick. I have been involved with others praying at times for sick people, and sometimes God has healed them. However, there are times when it is not God's will to heal the person. I remember praying for a woman's healing, and she was healed in a way that seemed almost miraculous, but at the same time I was praying for another lady who had to go to the hospital for surgery, and the Lord eventually called her home.

What are the unique features of this case that James was talking about?

The person is sick because of their sin (vv. 15b–16). The Greek text says, "if he have committed sins." This is like what 1 Corinthians 11:30 says: "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." (have died). James has talked about a church member who is sick because God is punishing him. This is why the elders of the assembly are called: the man can't go to church to confess his sins, so he asks the spiritual leaders to come to him.

The person admits to his sins (v. 16). The early church had rules for how to treat each other. One good example is 1 Corinthians 5. Paul told the Christians in Corinth to kick out the member who was sinning from the group until he repented and made things right. This is why we read in James 5:16 to confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The word "faults" may sound like the man's actions weren't that bad. James used the word "hamartia", which means "sin." James 1:15 uses the same word, and the subject is definitely sin.

“The prayer of faith” (v. 15) heals the person. The praying, not the anointing, is what heals. The Greek word that means "anointing" is a medical term; it could also mean "massaging." This may mean that James is saying that people should use the resources they have to heal and also ask the Lord for His divine touch. God can heal with or without human means; in either case, it is God who does the healing.

But what is "the prayer of faith" that makes sick people better? 1 John 5:14–15 says, "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." When you know what God wants, you can pray the "prayer of faith." The elders would ask God what He wanted and then pray according to that.

When I talk to people who are ill, I don't always know what to pray for them. (Paul had the same problem; see Rom. 8:26.) Is it God's will to heal? Is God going to bring His child home? I don't know, so I have to pray, "If it is Your will, heal Your child." People who say that God heals everyone and that He doesn't want His children to be sick are going against both the Bible and their experience. We can pray "the prayer of faith" and expect God to work if we are sure from the Word of God and the Spirit of God that it is God's will to heal.

It's not just one person praying; it's a group of elders, who are spiritual men of God, who are looking for God's will and praying. James did not tell the believer to call for a faith healer. The leaders of the local church are in charge of the situation.

We shouldn't ignore the biblical instruction in this part of God's word. One reason is that disobeying God's word can make you sick. David had this experience when he tried to hide his sins (Ps. 32). Second, sin has an effect on the entire body of Christ. We can never sin alone because sin spreads and grows. Because he had sinned against the church, this man had to tell the church about it. Third, when you deal with sin, you can heal (physically and spiritually). "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy" (Prov. 28:13). In essence, James is saying, get into the habit of confessing your sins to each other." Do not conceal sin or postpone confession.

The "confessing" that James wrote about is done by the saints. He wasn't saying that we should tell a preacher or priest about our sins. We first confess our sins to the Lord (1 John 1:9), but we also need to tell the people who were hurt by them about them. We do not need to admit to sin outside of the circle of that sin's influence. If you sin in private, you need to confess it in private. If you sin in public, you need to confess it there. Christians should not "hang dirty wash in public," because this kind of "confession" could do more harm than the sin itself.