James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Yes my Friends, that’s one of the many ways God bestows His mercy on us; through faithful prayer. James says that if any believer is sick, ‘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. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.’ (James 5:14-15) Yes people, prayer that comes from that kind of faith will heal, because prayer that stems from true faith is effective. ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16) And James gives Elijah as an example, where ‘he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,’ and it didn’t rain for 3 1/2 years. ‘And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (vs.17-18) This faith has been described as people acting in accord with God’s declared will. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.’ (1 John 5:14) The Lord actually hears us all the time, but only if it’s in line with His desires, will He act on it. Let’s get it straight Friends; faithful prayer can accomplish much, but it’s not merely going through the ritual that James outlined, (vs. 14) it goes much deeper than that. And it doesn’t grant healing powers to the elders or people who pray fervently and help others to recover, or give them special strength, else believers with a high level of spirituality would be always healthy. The prayer of faith basically figures out God’s will and then perseveres until it gets done. We must also realize that God doesn’t desire to heal every time we ask for it, and the real measure of true faith is when we recognize that fact, and more so, accept it. ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.’ (Rom.8:26-27) So though we have great faith, we don’t always know the right things to pray for, but the Spirit of Jesus within us, that judicious intercessor, transmits stuff we can’t mouth, but the Lord reads the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit always acts in the will of God. And what better example of this is there than Bruh Paul himself? He claims to have had a particular ailment, ‘a thorn in the flesh…For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor.12:7-9) You couldn’t desire a man with more faith, but what he prayed for wasn’t in accordance with God’s will, so he wasn’t healed. God wanted to prove that in our weakness, our human frailty, we could still be strong by having faith in Him. Meanwhile people of lesser faith than Bruh Paul, have prayed in faith and been healed, because it fell in line with God’s plans. So I guess all my ailments don’t coincide with God’s plans then? (smile) And I seem to be getting a new one every day, sometimes age related, sometimes not. However, I must say that the old ones, although they haven’t been completely healed, they’re definitely not as bad as when I first acquired them, and I am able to plod on with a fair degree of health. For that I am eternally thankful. All of this tells us that it’s not always easy to discern God’s will, but with true faith we’ll persevere until we get an answer one way or the other, and if our prayer for the sick and suffering happens to be answered in a positive manner, all praise and glory be to the Most High. For as James says: ‘the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.’ Wow! Not only shall the sick be made well, but his sins forgiven too. Yes my people, that’s the kind of merciful, forgiving God we worship! For ‘Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.’ (Mic.7:18-19) And all God’s people said, ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise His Holy Name forever!’ Oh Friends, what more can we ask of our God eh? If we walk faithfully with Him, He’ll heal, pardon and forgive us. We might not always get what we ask for, but once we remain obedient to His will, He’s promised never to leave nor forsake us. Let’s remember that and persevere in building our faith, even in the midst of great disappointment, for whatever the Lord does, is ALWAYS in our best interest, for OUR benefit, not His. Much LOVE!…faith…it grows strong…both through triumph and adversity…
Yes my Friends, that’s one of the many ways God bestows His mercy on us; through faithful prayer. James says that if any believer is sick, ‘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. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.’ (James 5:14-15) Yes people, prayer that comes from that kind of faith will heal, because prayer that stems from true faith is effective. ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16) And James gives Elijah as an example, where ‘he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,’ and it didn’t rain for 3 1/2 years. ‘And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (vs.17-18) This faith has been described as people acting in accord with God’s declared will. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.’ (1 John 5:14) The Lord actually hears us all the time, but only if it’s in line with His desires, will He act on it. Let’s get it straight Friends; faithful prayer can accomplish much, but it’s not merely going through the ritual that James outlined, (vs. 14) it goes much deeper than that. And it doesn’t grant healing powers to the elders or people who pray fervently and help others to recover, or give them special strength, else believers with a high level of spirituality would be always healthy. The prayer of faith basically figures out God’s will and then perseveres until it gets done. We must also realize that God doesn’t desire to heal every time we ask for it, and the real measure of true faith is when we recognize that fact, and more so, accept it. ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.’ (Rom.8:26-27) So though we have great faith, we don’t always know the right things to pray for, but the Spirit of Jesus within us, that judicious intercessor, transmits stuff we can’t mouth, but the Lord reads the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit always acts in the will of God. And what better example of this is there than Bruh Paul himself? He claims to have had a particular ailment, ‘a thorn in the flesh…For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor.12:7-9) You couldn’t desire a man with more faith, but what he prayed for wasn’t in accordance with God’s will, so he wasn’t healed. God wanted to prove that in our weakness, our human frailty, we could still be strong by having faith in Him. Meanwhile people of lesser faith than Bruh Paul, have prayed in faith and been healed, because it fell in line with God’s plans. So I guess all my ailments don’t coincide with God’s plans then? (smile) And I seem to be getting a new one every day, sometimes age related, sometimes not. However, I must say that the old ones, although they haven’t been completely healed, they’re definitely not as bad as when I first acquired them, and I am able to plod on with a fair degree of health. For that I am eternally thankful. All of this tells us that it’s not always easy to discern God’s will, but with true faith we’ll persevere until we get an answer one way or the other, and if our prayer for the sick and suffering happens to be answered in a positive manner, all praise and glory be to the Most High. For as James says: ‘the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.’ Wow! Not only shall the sick be made well, but his sins forgiven too. Yes my people, that’s the kind of merciful, forgiving God we worship! For ‘Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.’ (Mic.7:18-19) And all God’s people said, ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise His Holy Name forever!’ Oh Friends, what more can we ask of our God eh? If we walk faithfully with Him, He’ll heal, pardon and forgive us. We might not always get what we ask for, but once we remain obedient to His will, He’s promised never to leave nor forsake us. Let’s remember that and persevere in building our faith, even in the midst of great disappointment, for whatever the Lord does, is ALWAYS in our best interest, for OUR benefit, not His. Much LOVE!…faith…it grows strong…both through triumph and adversity…
SCRIP-BITS 