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-if you know Audrey and I at all, you know that we are passionate about prayer… one of our greatest joys is to pray for people, especially those who are hurting, struggling, or sick and in need of healing…
- we have seen God answer many prayers for healing…to which all the praise and honor goes to Him…there is nothing as joyful as witnessing the miracle of healing…
* Bolaji’s story…Nathan’s story…
God loves to heal people…that is something He is willing and wanting to do…all you have to do is look at the life of Jesus on earth and see that healing people was one of the main things He did…and He invites His people today to partner with Him in this wonderful ministry…
God wants us to believe that He can heal and will heal if we only ask Him…and He wants us to act on that faith in His healing authority and power…
But also, we have seen many prayers for healing not be answered…and we wonder why…it’s not easy when a person’s healing does not happen…it can easily raise questions and doubts…
-and we quickly learn that we are not in control of prayer…we are not in control of God…we do not determine the outcome of our prayers…as if by some guaranteed formula we can see God answer every time in the way we ask…
God is first and foremost Sovereign, good and wise… and He determines how to answer each prayer in the best way according to His plans and purposes…which are beyond us…
But until my last breath, I will not give up praying for any person to be healed…leaving the results to God…
So with that dose of realism, we come to the prayer of faith for the sick in James 5…which, as you will see, teaches clearly, that we must pray, no matter what…and we must believe in God’s miraculous power, no matter what…and we must not give up the ministry of healing prayer God has given to the local church…
Let me ask you this, do you need prayer for healing today? Is there anything in your life that is in need of healing? …physical…mental…emotional…spiritual? Would you be willing to be prayed for today by some of our people? There will be an opportunity at the end of the service for that very thing…there has to be…I couldn’t preach on this passage and not offer that.
Prayer…read…
Healing prayer is an enormous topic…so much to learn…so given the constraints of today, here’s what we learn about the prayer of faith for healing simply from this passage:
I Prayer is for every part of life vv.13-15
“…in trouble? happy? sick?”
-no matter what the situation…prayer is the response.
-this is what a genuine Christian does…prays about everything.
Phil 4:6 “…in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
-prayer like this is part of being in a living relationship with Jesus Christ…prayer becomes a way of life, not a lifeless routine before a meal, or a quick, memorized bedtime prayer…but living conversation and dependency and seeking, longing…friendship with God…
-if prayer for you is weak, or non-existent, or something you have little or no desire for, then you’ve got to take a good look at what’s going on…find out why…take care of the cause…ask God to ignite a desire for prayer in you…start with small baby steps, but start somewhere again…meet with someone for prayer…
II Prayer for healing is the intended culture of the local church family v.14
-“let them call for the elders of the church…”
-the local church is God’s chosen place for people to find prayer for healing and to find long-term healing…because this is where we walk with each other over many years… …because like a hospital we stay with a hurting person till they’re up on their feet…and then they stay and help the next hurting person…
-it isn’t just about getting somebody’s physical body healed, its about the whole person, body, soul and spirit being nurtured/discipled in a loving, healing environment that a healthy local church is meant to provide…
-all of the areas of our life overlap and affect one another…can’t separate physical health and healing from emotional and spiritual health and healing…and it’s long-term, loving relationships in a church family that provide the best place for long-term healthy lives…
-that doesn’t mean we don’t seek out professional Christian counseling and other helping agencies…it just means that God intends the local church to have a culture of healing…
The Elders
-Bible says, call for the elders of the church. Now who are the elders that we’re supposed to call?
They are not:
• just the hired pastors or the elected spiritual leaders
…in our case the Leadership Council
-although any one of us as pastors or LC members would be delighted to pray for you and you can call us at any time…
The elders of the church are those who are spiritually mature…and are known as people of prayer…people of faith who are confident of God’s power to hear and answer prayer…
There’s lots of people like that here at Northgate…
…if you don’t know who to call for prayer, call one of the LC members/pastors/office…
-or come out on Tuesday nights…we do lots of praying for people and anointing with oil…
III God is the Healer, not any person v.15
-“the Lord will raise them up”
-important that the focus always be on God and not the person that is doing the praying…
-I’m skeptical of self-proclaimed faith healers…but I trust people who have seen God heal when they pray, but they always give the glory to God and not focus on themselves…
v. 16 says “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” That’s because it is…God uses those kind of people…it’s not that the person is powerful and effective, it is God’s righteousness and power and authority flowing through that person that is powerful and effective.
-these are people who have learned how to get out of the way and let God work through them…learned how to be empty of themselves and full of God…so that it’s God who moves and works and not the person…people who are committed to righteousness and holiness knowing that God loves to work through a clean vessel…
eg John Eldredge series on prayer “Moving Mountains”…there is a way things work…and there is a way prayer works…and one of the ways prayer works and is answered is when the people praying are learning to be righteous and holy and set apart for God…are available to Him, surrendered and submissive to God…
-those are the kind of spiritually mature “elders” we are meant to call for prayer…
IV Prayer is aligning your life with God and His word v.16
-there are some conditions for the person who needs prayer and who is asking for prayer for healing:
* the rope between small and large boat illustration…
1. align your faith in God by asking for prayer v.14
-there is something about the asking, seeking, knocking Mt. 7, that God honors…because it involves faith in Him
-while it’s not the amount of our faith that gets us healed…or our lack of faith that prevents our healing, there is an element of faith needed when we call for prayer…even if it’s tiny and weak, we are still exercising faith when we call for prayer…and God honors that…responds to that…He loves that…
-you’re expressing faith in what God can do and desiring it…
2. align your purity of life by confessing your sins v.16
-make sure there is nothing in your life obstructing God’s healing power from doing a thorough work in you…
eg. Dr. David Levi’s story of person whose sin prevented healing…but once identified and confessed, healing found…from his book “Grey Matter”.
* the root cause of our sickness, struggle, etc. is important to consider…need to ask God to show us that…
-and sometimes it is sin in our life…un-forgiveness…
* important: sin is not always the cause of sickness…
John 9:2-3 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
…but sometimes it is un-confessed sin that is causing our sickness…
-that’s why its important to ask God to show you if there is anything that has to be dealt with…and then align your life with God and His word in preparation for the prayer for healing…
Anointing With Oil
-that’s one reason why the anointing of oil is used (v14)…it is symbolic of being consecrated, set apart for God.
eg Saul anointing young David as King…
-there’s different theories about the use of anointing oil in healing prayer: some think in James’ day it was medicinal…that the elders not only prayed for the sick person but also administered medicinal oil, eg Good Samaritan pouring oil and wine on the wounds of the injured man…
-whether or not that’s the case, it’s a good reminder that there is a place for proper medical care when sick…you don’t have to reject medicine if you believe in healing prayer…there is a place for both…
-but the anointing of oil, I believe is symbolic of being consecrated, set apart for God, reminder that we belong to Him, body, soul and spirit…and we want every part of ourselves to align with Him…and if any part does not…
eg. un-confessed sin, then all we need to do is simply confess it, ask for forgiveness and repent of it…
And as v.16 says, there is a place for confessing our sins to each other, to a trusted person…it is God who forgives sin, not people, but there is something freeing and victorious when we open up to another person about our sin struggle and need for forgiveness…
-many think that this should be a private matter between them and God alone, but v. 16 would say otherwise…
-over the years when someone tells me that they’re handling their sin issues on their own, especially the more deep-rooted sinful patterns and addictions, often there is only temporary victory, and the person slips right back into their sinful patterns…
…until they finally humble themselves and open up to a trusted Christian person and find greater help and freedom and victory…
-it’s just the way God has designed the Christian life…meant to be lived in open, honest community…
Point is, it’s essential to align your life with God and His word if you want to find healing…
V Even you can pray for someone’s healing v.17
-do we have any normal people here, that are not only genuine followers of Jesus Christ, but also human beings? Well, if you fall into that category, you can pray for someone to be healed in faith that God will answer.
How do I know this? Because of v. 17…
-don’t get intimidated by the example of Elijah…I know he was one of a kind prophet of God…and right away we think, “I’m not in that category of a mighty prophet of God”…which is exactly James’ point. You don’t have to be. You can be yourself, with all your strengths and weaknesses, ups and downs, successes and failures…
…it is not our greatness that makes the healing happen, it is God using normal people…people that is, who pursuing righteousness and are learning to pray earnestly…
-of course there is training in prayer ministry that is available…lots of great resources…all you have to do is ask…
But we don’t want to make it more complicated than it needs to be…the best training is praying alongside people that are further down the road in this ministry…
-it’s really a matter of inviting Jesus into the life of the person you’re praying for…”your kingdom come…”
-like the friends of the paralyzed man who lowered him on a mat through the roof of a house where Jesus was teaching…just take the person to Jesus and ask Him to do His work…
-and listen to God’s voice of guidance, “What are You doing in this person’s life? how do you want us to pray?” just like Bolaji heard God speak to him when praying for that man in Marare…
Prayer Time
OK, enough said. Now it’s time for prayer ministry.
Do you need prayer for healing for anything? physical, emotional, spiritual?…
-God really loves to heal sick people…wants to do that for you as well…
-invite up those I have asked to pray for you today…
-not going to close our service with a song…just move right into the prayer time…
-come on up for prayer…or find someone in the congregation and ask them to pray for you…
-either way, let’s believe that God wants to do a healing work here this morning…
-feel free to leave whenever you are ready…