Devotional and Reflection Questions: Christ My Healer (James 5:13-19)

Christ My Healer

     James 5:13-19 states, “ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  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. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,”

     Sin troubles our lives.  This passage brings to mind the anxiety and physical issues presented by its presence in our lives.  What is the solution to this persistent problem?  The Bible states we should pray.  For every condition, there is an appropriate action. For sickness of body, mind, or spirit, we as Christians should pray.  Christ has declared us righteous as partakers in His sacrifice.  We are righteous because of Him and able to enter God’s presence.  We were once unholy but now are made righteous by Christ’s sacrifice and our acceptance.  The Bible commands us to pray for the sick.  The prayers of the righteous have great power.  Corporately, we are commanded to have the elders pray over the sick person.  Why should the congregation choose elders to pray over the sick?  Elders are chosen by very strict standards of character that have become evident in their lives.  They live righteous lives.  Not all Christians live this same way; thus sin may interfere with the effectiveness of their prayers.  The Word states in John 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.”  The person desiring to be healed, as well as the one healing should believe in faith and  repent from all known sin.  If not, the sins of one of these persons may become a hindrance to healing if that is the will of God.  When we depart from the truth as the passage suggests, we do so to pursue sin.  The Bible refers to repentance using the word turn.  If we turn from looking toward God, we turn to something else.  Our eyes do not just randomly wander in physical or spiritual life.  We focus on one thing or another.  The Word says for us to focus on God and our prayers will be powerfully effective in healing and as a witness for God to a lost and dying world.

     God is renewing both our body and our soul.  We know we will not experience the second death, a spiritual one if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  It is a privilege of the believer to be healed and to offer healing to others.  Ultimately, we will be fully healed both physically and spiritually in heaven.   Even though our physical body here is growing weaker each day, our spirit is being renewed.  Outside of heaven, James 5:15 tells us that we have the ability to heal the sick if we have faith and a repentant heart.  To summarize, both the healer and the one to be healed should first be right with God; then both should in faith, give and accept the healing that comes from the Holy Spirit through prayer. 

    

Reflection Questions

1)      What should be our response to trouble, sickness, anxiety, sadness, or sickness?  Is there anything that we cannot bring to the Lord?

2)      Is there something that can interfere with the power of our prayers?

3)      Is the power in prayer coming from us or are we simply a conduit for the power of something else to work through us? 


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