13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. – James 5:13-16
When we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we are called to pray, and God will fill us with power, and joy, and our prayers and our sufferings will turn into songs of thanksgiving. James speaks of the healing of people, and the anointing of oil, notice that he doesn’t say we need to go to the preacher, or to the pastor, but the elders (plural) of the church. In this, James is calling for the faithful community to pray together for healing. We have done that as faithful people. We may not, at times, get together around someone, but our minds our connected, our thoughts are together, and for those who have been sick, and been made well, we truly believe that God has a hand in it.
As prayerful people, I expect, we believe in the power of prayer. We don’t, however, neglect the wonderful healthcare provisions we have in our modern society. If we are sick, we go see our doctor, or if necessary we go receive treatment in the hospital. If it’s needed we are willing to have surgery, and do any number of things to keep our bodies healthy.
None of these things discredit the power of prayer, but what we understand is that when we prayer, and even as we pray, we should also do something about our situation. When we pray, for anything, we should also give our prayers feet, hands, and put them into action, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If we are praying for healing of body, we also need to do something that would elicit healing in our body, whether that is medicine, therapy, surgery, or whatever.
When we pray for forgiveness, we also are called to do something. We must forgive. If we want to be forgiven, we need to make amends for what we have done wrong, or to whom we have done wrong and seek forgiveness. Sometimes this even means forgiving ourselves for the mistakes that we have made that keep us from living a life abundant and joyful, and start living as if we truly have faith that we are forgiven.
In prayer, we pray to God, giving praise, we pray for others, we pray for ourselves, and seek God’s kingdom above all else.
Grace & Peace,
Sam