Fri 10th July – Read James 5:13-16

Fri 10^th July   –   Read James 5:13-16

V13:  What should we do in times of suffering?  Bring it to the Lord in prayer!  What should we do in times of joy? Bring it to the Lord in thankful praise!

V14:  Sick believers are exhorted to call the Elders of their church to come to them and pray, to anoint them with oil ( surely, medicinal, not “magical” ) in the Lord’s Name. Should this be a continuing practice? Some do literally adhere to this. Certainly let us never doubt the value of the prayer of faith, or neglect the role of God-given Elders in ministering to believers in affliction.

V15:  Not a “blanket promise” of guaranteed healing  – God is Sovereign – but a general promise to our faith in the power of prayer. ” Save” here is, I think, best understood in the sense of “heal”, and the “raising up”, from sickness to restored health. The reference to sins forgiven surely reminds us that in prayer we should always be mindful of our sins and seek forgiveness, as in the prayer Jesus taught us. We rejoice in the forgiveness which is ours in Christ, but we are to pray for it daily, both for ourselves and others.

V16: Confess to each other? This is not like the Roman Catholic “confessional”, but surely means where we have sinned against a brother or sister ( they may not even know it, if its been in what we’ve said about them ) we should confess it to them and ask their forgiveness ( see Matthew 5:23-24.) And then pray for each others needs. Do we ever think of doing this? We are promised that God will hear and answer the prayer of ” a righteous person” – again, in Scripture that can only truly be one who is trusting Christ as the Saviour Who has made them right with God. The believer’s prayer will be powerful and effective, but remember, God is Sovereign in how He answers.