God's Promise: Healing

 

"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" NIV

"Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well.  And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven." NLT

"The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." CSB

James 5:15

    The promise of healing comes with instruction.  In verse 14 James tell the church what when someone is sick to gather the elders (spiritually wise leaders) to come pray over the sick person.  The sick are to be anointed in oil.  It goes back to the rituals of the old testament, but with the intent of doing spiritual warfare.  The oil anoints the person to God.  If you are sick and need healing, then you need strong prayer warrior supporting you.

    In verse 15 is where you find the promise.  You have set yourself up to be healed, but the key ingredient is faith.  You have to believe that you will be healed.  Some illnesses come from living in this world while others come from sin.  This is why you need to trust your prayer warriors with confessions of sin.  You confess to God and He will forgive.  Confessing to people is not how you are forgiven.  It empowers the prayer warriors to know how to pray over you better.  It helps them know how to pray for your healing.  

    Verse 16 ties it all together in how it should be performed.  In the gathering before the laying of hands, oil application, or corporate prayer begins, everyone needs to confess if there is anything that could block their prayers from being heard or would hinder the process.  Once confession and repentance happens, then your group will have power behind the prayers.  

    Here is where it gets tricky.  God promises healing, but he never promised that every time it would be this body that is healed.  Everyone has sinned, so everyone will die.  He heals the body to serve a purpose.  It is better for a true Christian to find the eternal healing that comes after this body is gone.  It hurts the loved ones left behind, but it is better for them.  If God heals you, saves you, or keeps you from harm it is insurance that He still has a purpose for you here and now.  If you are not a Christian, then you need to understand that you only get so many chances to accept salvation before the door closes forever.

    To sum it all up.  It takes faith, prayer, and confession to find true healing.  It is about having and maintaining your relationship with God.  Repentance is when you turn from your sin.  God knows the heart.  He knows if the confessions were true or a lie.  That is between you and Him.  He knows immediately if you have a repentant heart.  This repentance I am talking about is being held accountable to who is now you prayer group.  They are also no accountable to you.  The goal is to find physical and spiritual healing while leaning on God.

Isaiah 33:24, Matthew 9:2-6, Mark 6:13, 16:18, & James 5:14-16