May 10, 2020 · James 5:14–16

Healer

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

“We can't force God to heal. But we need to pray for healing in order for it to happen. God heals for his own reasons, his own timing. He tells us to pray for healing. He tells us to anoint the sick with oil as a sign of his healing, and this is something we must be faithful in. You can't will up a healing by praying enough, or being emotional, and — jimmy — up this kind of faith in your heart. We recognize that God calls us to pray in faith. Pray lots — yes. God asks us to. But it's not just a matter of praying enough. It's a matter of continually seeking God and letting him decide when to heal. The more we pray, the stronger our faith, and when we have strong faith, we see more healing — but not every single time. You can't force God's hand. But you can take the hand of Jesus as he decides to heal. We don't see more healing because we don't pray for it enough. I truly believe that. I've seen that in my own life, and recognized that this is a place we're almost scared to pray for healing, because we don't want to be disappointed. But the reality is, if we don't pray, we'll never be surprised by the grace of God.”