The Way

James 5: 14

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 4: 17

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

Now we know. We can no longer plead ignorance. James tells us, plainly, what we are to do when we are sick. And yet, do we do it? If we do not, he says we are sinning. That’s kind of harsh but sometimes the truth is a hard taskmaster. There is no variance, no partial compliance.

I do not find that people comply with James 5: 14. We do not call for the elders and ask them to anoint us with oil and pray. We just don’t. Why? Are we not doers of the Word? Do we, instead, follow the path of the world? I believe God gave us medical science. I believe in the revelation he has given us. However, I believe the first line of defense is always James 5: 14. When medicine or treatment is called for, we should always take them with a healthy dose of prayer.

Is the reason we do not call for the elders and for prayer is because we are embarrassed to admit we have problems? Do we think that problems are evidence of a lack of faith? I sure do not. Paul asked for prayer for goodness’ sake. He didn’t seem to think it was a sign of weakness. Perhaps we don’t really believe in the power of prayer. Maybe we don’t believe in the ministry of elders. Or, could it be, that our real belief problem is that we do not believe in a living Christ who cares enough for us or is powerful enough to heal us. Is our Christ dead in our hearts? Do we really, in the deepest part of our spirits, believe that Jesus is alive and at work in people’s lives to this day.

To wit, this ministry has a dynamic prayer team. We certainly don’t use them enough. I often find myself surprised to hear of challenges Christians have gone through and never requested prayer. Use the prayer request feature by clicking HERE.

I have many questions today but not so many answers. What I know, though, is that Jesus’ brother gave us a clear edict and then threw down the gauntlet to see who would actually follow Jesus.

Is there any sick among you? This world is crumbling in around us. We better figure out, real soon, how to live according to “The Way”.