We made it. Last section of the last chapter in James. He talks about the power of prayer and restore wandering believers.
James 5:13-15 are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. 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. And their prayer offered in faith will heal he sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
James is referring to someone that is physically ill. This oil is both a “medicine” and a symbol of the Spirit of God. It represents both the medical and spiritual spheres of life.
This is why we need our church. Our church family. They can be there for us, and “where two or more are gathered , there I will be too”. The elders in our church have prayed over us many times, and used oil many times. I struggled with not understanding why having the elders anoint and pray over me, and I had faith, that I would be healed and here I am two and half years later still battling the pain. After that moment and being “angry” with God (yes I had lots of moments of this, I was being honest with God) I realized I was being healed, just not the way I thought. Prayer is very powerful!
Before my wandering season I had prayed that I would be completely healed (this was before I injured my foot). I asked God to “you call me out upon the waters the great unknown where my feet may fail and there I find You in the mystery in oceans deep my faith will stand….Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders let me walk upon the waves where ever You would calm me take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made…” (oceans by hill song united) he did just that.
God heals, faith doesn’t, and all prayers are subject to Gods will. Prayer is part of the healing process.
James 5:16-18 confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and half years! Then he prayed for rain, and down it poured. The grass turned green, and the crops began to grow.
Through Christ we are able to go to God. But confessing our sins to each other has its importance. 1. If we sin against someone, we ,just ask that person for forgiveness. 2. If our sin effects the church, we must apologize publicly. 3. If we need loving support as we struggle with a sin, confess to those who are bale to help you. 4. If we doubt Gods forgiveness after we have confessed, then go to someone who you trust and confess it to them for the assurance. In Gods kingdom every believer is a priest to other believers.
We must not think to pray after we have tried everything else. Prayer should and must come first. Gods power is way more than we even imagine. Therefore why not go to Him first?!
James 5:19-20 my dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
Part of our job as followers of Christ is to make sure other believers don’t head back to sin. Pray for this person, acting in love, we can meet this person where they are and bring them back to the light and mercy.
As we close the book of James I would like to kind of summarize, James tells us we need faith in action. The church must serve with compassion, speak lovingly and truthfully, live in obedience to Gods commands, and love one another. The body of a Christ (us followers) need to be the example of heaven on earth. If we truly believe His word, we must love it out every day. The word of God is not something we just read and move on. It’s something that we do. Belief, faith, and trust must have hands and feet-ours!
Thank you to everyone that followed along. I pray that I at least reached one person. I am just live you guys, same temptations, same battles. Together we can get through, together we can have the joy that only comes from God. 💜
Warrior for Christ 