Week of July 23

“Christ is the Good Physician. There is no disease He cannot heal; no sin He cannot remove; no trouble He cannot help” (James Aughey). Amen! I’m telling you today that these words hit their mark when I read them. I know the truth of them through personal experience, and I will share one such testimony a bit later in this devotional.
 
James writes similar words in our focal chapter today and demonstrates the powerful effect that believing prayer has upon two great needs that hinder total church wellness—sin and sickness. Let’s turn our focus today to the word of the Lord with respect to prayer.

Prayer needs to be more than an individual pursuit, so James calls the church to prayer as a community-building investment. He knew the destructive nature of sin, so he points to a key agent to healing and forgiveness within the body of believers. The backdrop to this
chapter has been suffering (cf. vv. 1-10), and now James also takes up the problem of sin that leads to sickness.
 
He highlights the impact that it has upon faith and unity in the church. We all know how to rally around people when they fall ill and must enter a hospital. Some of us, though, find it challenging to pray for those whose illness comes because of some sin. James calls the church to be a spiritual hospital that rallies around the sick and even fallen souls who needed restoration. In my mind, we too often are great at pointing out the spiritual sin and condemning the sinner but fall well short of the steps needed to reclaim and restore the fallen Christian brother or sister.

James calls believers not to a committee meeting, but to a prayer meeting when seeking to help one another in a time of crisis. We too often invest precious time or throw money at great challenges to church vitality, when the Lord calls us to cast our cares upon Him—all of them (1 Peter 5:7)!

Therefore, believers are to intercede for one another over two hurtful attackers to the health of the body of Christ, forgiveness of sin and human sickness. Kurt Richardson writes that “this mutual intercession is a prime New Testament example of the evangelical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers” (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-5; NAC). Wow! Rather than use the doctrine to assert our independence from one another, we should apply it to our mutual need to unite with one another in prayer.

I must say that I have never felt too comfortable with the way that churches often handle the confession of sin. Yes, it is a vital step in the path to forgiveness where we agree with God about our sin. Let me insert some caution at this point. Confession should not further open the wound caused by the sin.
 
People ought not to latch onto the wrong; instead, they need to cling to the One who forgives and makes all things right. Notice that James calls for the sin to be named but no more (5:16a). There was no need to relive the sin in the retelling of it. In other words, let’s not sensationalize the mutual confessing of sin lest it feed sinful desire (cf. 1:14; Galatians 6:1-2; NAC).

There are a quite a few biblical references to spiritual healing in Scripture, but it seems more likely that the focus in this passage is upon physical healing from illness (cf. NAC). Intercessory prayer for those who are sick is encouraged among believers. There was no such thing as modern medicine at that time. People were dependent upon the Great Physician in ways that we sadly do not see today.
 
The same type of prayer that was offered for forgiveness of sin (soul sickness) was to be offered for physical illness. “Faithful prayer is the sole means of healing in this verse—oil is not mentioned here as it was earlier” (NAC). All of God’s people were called to pray confidently for the healing of those who were ill. I hope that we all get the point. We may never serve on the Finance Committee or the Personnel Team, but we all are vital to the well-being of the church. Everyone is to serve one another on the prayer committee. There is an important qualification.

The key element in effective prayer is “righteousness.” James notes the important relation between the “virtue of righteousness and the quality of payer for all believers” (NAC). What?! Slow your eyes and minds down at this point. Each one of us possesses all the necessary spiritual DNA to be effective in prayer. Goodness, we all have the capacity to be prayer warriors. This requires living righteously by centering our lives upon the Word of God. It does not mean that we are sinless; instead, we are to be filled with mercy (cf. 2:13). Therefore, the essence of righteousness is to live one’s life dependent upon God in all one’s affairs. A direct benefit is vital power in prayer.

The power for prayer that works is found not in some special incantation (prayer language) or self-flagellating posture (calloused knees), but in a heart that longs inwardly for God’s way to be honored. In respect to healing, the praying believer places the matter in the hands of God, which is where it should be anyway! We do know with certainty that God hears our prayers (5:17-18; 1 John 5:14). So, let’s not rob one another of God’s forgiving and healing mercies by failing to pray!

I will share one of several memorable prayer victories when church members were faced with grim health diagnoses. I hurriedly drove to a doctor’s office when a church member notified me that his young son had a lump that had come up on his neck. Our worst fears were realized when the doctor told him that the diagnosis was leukemia. We stepped onto an elevator, and both began to weep because the disease at that time often claimed the lives of young children.
 
I asked if we might pray, and, even as the elevator descended our hopes begin to soar as we called on God’s mighty healing name. He filled that tiny cabin with His presence and peace. Long and severe treatments, and a period of recovery followed, but I am here to witness today that God healed that child. More than two-and-a-half decades later he is alive and serving the Lord! Talk about an event that inspired deeper community prayer! That event served as a catalyst for richer focused prayer in my life and in my church community.
 
Here is a thought for our spiritual growth. Not every person for whom we pray will recover from their illnesses, but I am able to say that God always infuses our sorrow with His all-encompassing comfort and grace in the trial. You see, I have learned that my total trust in the Lord’s purposes lights the winding pathway through sin and sickness toward His full and final healing.

1. Are you frustrated in prayer? Prayer directly impacts needs when we are centered upon God’s word. Empower your prayers by placing yourself squarely in dependence upon God.
 
2. For Families: does your family practice this kind of powerful prayer? Can you imagine what a child might learn from a family that sets aside an hour once a month for a prayer session? Invite close family friends or your small group to come to your house, with all of the kids in tow, for a prayer meeting, where needs are shared and written down, the sick are mentioned by name, and those with spiritual needs are mentioned and placed into God’s hands.

Pray for your community of faith, for your church leaders, for Sunday School teachers, and deacons and ministry and mission leaders and volunteers. Pray for an awakening in our nation, for the leaders responsible for the common good. Pray for justice to prevail and for hatred to be destroyed.

Let the kids learn to pray in community too. As your children mature, they will always remember their parents gathering their family and friends to pray to the God who hears and acts and responds. And their faith will be strengthened by what they witness as a result of this exciting and sacred practice in your home.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock