Recovery

Mark 16:17 – 18

And these signs will accompany those who have believed; in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

Here is a passage written in red that we are challenged by! I would like to preach on the whole bit for a week, but I cannot. I hope you, though, will ponder all the things Jesus said. Each of these should accompany those of us who believe. Thus, the question becomes, “Do we believe?” Today I am just trying to get us to believe the last one, “they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Have you already conceptualized this statement even as you read it? What does it mean to you? Surely, this puts us in a different position than previous verses. No longer are we necessarily the sick person, though that could still be where we see ourselves in this scenario. However, we could also be, and the passage suggests this, the person who lays hands on the sick.

We have already seen that there is power in agreement. Jesus is taking us a step further today. He suggests that if we are the sick, we should call for a believer to pray for us with the inevitable outcome that we will recover. However, he really wasn’t speaking from that perspective. He was sharing what the life of a believer looks like. Wherever they go, the blessing follows them. Not only do they benefit from the blessing but also, others share in that benefit.

If you are sick, you should call for a believer. Then, that believer should lay hands on you and pray the prayer of faith. The prayer offered in faith shall quicken mortal flesh and the sick will recover. You recover from sickness.

Now, the other side of the coin. Are you a believer? Well, of course you are! Then, you may be the person called upon to pray for the sick, and what should you expect when you lay your hands on a person and pray for them? You expect them to recover, right? It is not by our power nor our might but by the loving grace of our Father and big brother. Jesus already healed every one of us. So, we are simply the marshals of his good will towards them. You are the point of agreement between the sick and the Lord. In that moment of contact, there are three of you in agreement and whatever you ask, the Lord shall do.

Okay, what if the sick person is a believer? It doesn’t actually change the equation. Call for another believer knowing the signs that are supposed to follow believers. Have that person pray for you. You can still use your faith too, but Jesus is giving us a model here. He was teaching that signs, wonders, and miracles should follow believers. Where we go, there goes the Spirit of God and where there is the Spirit, there is always healing power.

Can your heart embrace this today? I know some of you accept this truth readily and would be the first to pray. For others of you, this passage presents a challenge. You have been very private in your faith and perhaps have never prayed for another person. We have not done enough corporate prayer in church, so we have learned to be bashful. I can promise you this, no one ever described Jesus as bashful. Faith needs an outlet, and here is a bit of good news. It grows as you let it out.

Now, I understand that laying hands on others and praying for them may not come easily to you but if Jesus said it, we must move ourselves towards compliance. Do you agree? The easiest thing is when someone asks you to pray for them rather than you having to offer so do a believer a favor, ask them to pray for you. Require that they lay their hands on you. If you are the pray-er, you can just put your hand on someone’s forehead or on their hand. It doesn’t have to get weird. Just make a physical and spiritual connection and ask Jesus to make the person whole. We know his healing is running around in their veins. It just needs to be made manifest in their flesh. Jesus said the sick will recover so let it be so.

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”.