James Expounds on Faith Volume 57

 Praying in Faith Part 2

James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the Church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

The Apostle James now writes to those scattered Jews who have now come to our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) in repentance and faith exhorting those brothers and sisters in Christ Mystical Body that are sick from any diseases to take themselves to those true, trustworthy, and triumphant 🧓 elders in Christ Body with prayer request, as it is written with these words, "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the Church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:" (James 5:14) (KJV). The prayer of one true man/son of God 👨 through our Lord Jesus Christ reaches the Throne of our Father in Heaven, as it is written by the writer of Hebrews with these words, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16) (NKJV), therefore, we must expect that the prayers of many faithful men/sons 🚹 of God will definitely reach His 👂 ears and according to His will in the matter of the sickness be eradicated even sooner than the one sick brother or sister praying alone. The annoiting with oil 🛢 was something our Lord Jesus Christ gave to the Apostles as He sent them out two by two giving them power over the enemy (the devil 😈), as it is written, "And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. Also He said to them, 'In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!' So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them." (Mark 6:7-13)( NKJV). There was and is no power in the oil 🛢 to heal sickness, but the power resides from the faith and faithfulness of the son or daughter sick 🤮 and from the elders in Christ Body praying over the sick 🤮 brother or sister. The Apostle Paul was such an example of strong faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and true faithfulness to Him, remember one occassion when he was on the Island of Malta, as it is written, "In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary." (Acts 28:7-10)(NKJV). This same Apostle Paul spoke of brother Epaphroditus who was very beloved by him, yet he was very sick on one occassion and although in Paul's letter, he does not write that he 🙏 prayed for him, yet it is certain that the readers of his letter would know that cretainly he did, as it is written here in this letter to the brother and sisters in Philippi, "Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me." (Philippians) 2:25-30 (NKJV).

Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say of James 5:14, "Which is often the case; the bodies of the saints, as well as others, are liable to a variety of diseases; they are sick, and sometimes nigh unto death, as Epaphroditus was: and then, let him call for the elders of the Church; in allusion to the elders of the congregation of Israel, Leviticus 4:15. By these may be meant, either the elder members of the Church, men of gravity and soundness in the faith, persons of long standing and experience; who have the gift and grace of prayer, and are not only capable of performing that duty, but of giving a word of counsel and advice to the sick. It was a kind of proverbial saying of Aristophanes the grammarian; the works of young men, the counsels of middle aged persons, and the prayers of ancient men. Or rather officers of Churches are meant, particularly pastors, who are so called in Scripture; these should be sent for in times of sickness, as well as physicians; and rather than they, since their prayers may be the means of healing both soul and body: so in former times, the prophets of God were sent to in times of sickness, for advice and assistance. It is a saying of R. Phinehas ben Chama that 'whoever has a sick person in his house, let him go to a wise man, and he will seek mercy for him.'' And it follows here, and let them pray over him; or for him, for the recovery of his health: anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord; which some think was only done in a common medicinal way, oil being used much in the eastern countries for most disorders; and so these elders used ordinary medicine, as well as prayer: or rather this refers to an extraordinary gift, which some elders had of healing diseases, as sometimes by touching, and by laying on of hands, or by expressing some words, and so by anointing with oil; see Mark 6:13 which extraordinary gifts being now ceased, the rite or ceremony of anointing with oil ceases in course: however, this passage gives no countenance to the extreme unction of the Papists; that of theirs being attended with many customs and ceremonies, which are not here made mention of; that being used, as is pretended, for the healing of the souls of men, whereas this was used for corporeal healing; that is only performed when life is despaired of, and persons are just going out of the world; whereas this was made use of to restore men to health, and that they might continue longer in it, as follows." Here also is what John Wesley said of James 5:14, "This single conspicuous gift, which Christ committed to His Apostles, Mar 6:13, remained in the Church long after the other miraculous gifts were withdrawn. Indeed, it seems to have been designed to remain always; and St. James directs the elders, who were the most, if not the only, gifted men, to administer at. This was the whole process of physic in the Christian Church, till it was lost through unbelief. That novel invention among the Romanists, extreme unction, practised not for cure, but where life is despaired of, bears no manner of resemblance to this."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…