James 5:13-20 FAITH SHOWN BY BELIEVING PRAYERS People of faith are prayerful in times of trouble, whether they are in economic suffering affecting daily living, v.1-9; physical suffering affecting us personally, v.10-16; national suffering that impacts not only the people but also the Gospel, v.17-18; or in the church,v.19-20. When a trial is specifically planned by God [2Cor.12] – Pray. God will give grace. When a trial is the result of sin [1Cor.11:30] – Pray, and ask others who are elders to pray for you. Use the means God has supplied for health. Oil was a common medicine. “Anoint” is the word for “massage” [v.14].
When a believer is afflicted and "suffering trouble," that is not a case of sickness because of sin. "Enduring hardness" is part of what happens when one lives for Christ in a godless world. Our response to those times should not be retaliation or complaining but rather prayer. The Lord will answer in a way that best pleases Him and serves the purpose for which He allowed it. When there is cause for rejoicing, our expressions of thanks and joy should not be meaningless nor mindless, but directed in praise to God in words the Holy Spirit provides for us.
The sickness, "illness," in verse fourteen is different than the trouble and affliction in the previous verse. This is a chastening from the Lord in the form of sickness because of sin. When illness because of sin is imposed by God's will to bring correction as happened in Corinth because of disorder at the Lord's Supper , hopefully those involved will confess and forsake their sin. Sin has to be confessed to God, and to those who were injured in some way by that sin.
Those are represented by the elders of the church who come when the ill person takes the initiative in the matter and calls for them to come. At the sinner's request, the elders are to pray for his genuine repentance to be evident and the evil has been acknowledged. The oil represents the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the person back to the Lord and His people. There is no magic in the oil although there may be some medicinal value. It is a reminder that our spiritual and physical well-being and life cannot really be separated. When the Holy Spirit is not quenched or grieved, and the sin that brought the sickness has been confessed and forsaken, a person can be brought back to serve the Lord in an appropriate work.
When you have sinned against another, confess your sin and – Pray for each other. God works through prayer from a clean, dedicated heart. Elijah was a dedicated man of faith. Physically incapacity affects our spiritual life. Oil can represent both the spiritual and medical spheres in which the Holy Spirit works. The anointing oil in the Old Testament set priests apart to serve the Lord in the capacity He designated. Members of the church should support and pray for the other believers. The faith of praying people is part of the healing process. It is God who heals, and yet He is willing that our prayers be part of the healing process. Our prayers are not wasted when they are subject to God's will. By prayer we go directly to God regarding specific matters.
Confessing faults and sin to each other is important in order to maintain a vital and meaningful fellowship as believers 1] If we have sinned against another, we must ask forgiveness. 2] If our sin has affected the assembly, we must confess it publicly. 3] If we need support of other, we should confess that sin to others whose support we need. 4] If we need assurance from others we may have to confess our sins to them. Our most powerful resource is communion with God in prayer. When believers pray in faith one can be delivered from depression caused by guilt that has not been faced. Guilt is not dealt with by one being assured of self- worth in spite of what they have done. Repentance and confession of sin to the Lord, and to any people involved, brings relief from hidden guilt.
When the conditions have been met for healing, they will also have been met for forgiveness. Confessing "faults" means we have to face them and deal with them. That makes prayer energized, "effectual," when one is righteous in their state before God. The barrier caused by sin is removed and fellowship with God and fellow-believers is restored. The providential miracle in answer to Elijah's prayer is a reminder that God's timing and orders are a factor in when we meet God's conditions in our prayers.
People of faith are persistent in soul winning. Saints are to bring those wandering in sin back again to where they can hear the Gospel and be converted. Our brothers and sisters in Christ also need us and we need them. There are those, like the one who was sick, who need a brother to come alongside and urge him to change his ways and deal with the sin problem in his life. If he is a believer, he may not be aware of the dangers on the course of life he is traveling. If his profession of faith in Christ is real, he needs to be "converted (to turn back again) from what he is doing. That would save him physically. One who has fallen into sin, needs someone to take the initiative, pray for them and act in love to bring them back to God. If a person has professed to be a Christian, but continues to go the wrong way in his life and does not come to the place of repentance in his life, he need to be saved both physically and from eternal, spiritual death. Faith in action is the evidence and result of real faith. We live out God’s word as well as speak the truth.