Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James 5:14-15
Many years ago, while cleaning my bathtub, I heard a sermon by Chuck Swindoll over KTIS. I have a ton of respect for him and his teaching.
In this particular sermon, he talked about how the above verses didn’t mean that we were supposed to expect healing by faith alone. He went on to explain, as best as I remember, anyway, that when these verses were written, the readers understood that James was telling them to not just pray, but to also go to the doctor.
The reasoning went like this. Pastor Swindoll described the doctors of the Jewish world as the priests (see Leviticus 13). Therefore, in the newly created Christian church, the elders were now the doctors of their community. In the Old Testament, if you suspected you were sick, you would go to the priests to find out what ailed you, and what to do about it. The priests would anoint you with oil as part of the healing process, hence, the reference in James meant that you should see a doctor as part of the healing process.
As someone who is praying for and encouraging a number of friends in pursuit of healing, I don’t know if I agree with Pastor Swindoll’s take on James 5:14-15. I have seen God heal people through prayer alone.
However, I have also seen and experienced God healing through medicine. And nowhere does the Bible say to stay away from medical treatments. God used Luke to spread the Good News through writing several books of the Bible, without requiring Luke to give up his profession as a doctor, after all.
I am believing for healing for my friends, hoping for a miracle so that they can be restored to full living immediately. I am also encouraging them as they are led to different doctors and medical treatments, praying that in all situations God’s will would be done.
Sometimes God works a miracle all by himself, sometimes he asks his people to take part.
Praying for miraculous healing and excellent medicine for you and yours!