“Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out” (James 5:13-15, MSG).
I was about 10 years old when an X-ray revealed tuberculosis on my lung. My father had died five years earlier from tuberculosis, so my siblings and I had to have chest X-rays every six months.
On Sunday I went to church and asked the leaders to pray for me, but I did not explain my specific need. I had memorized James 5:14-15, so I knew I would be healed if I did what Scripture said.
When my mother and I arrived at the treatment facility the next day, the doctor ordered another X-ray prior to admitting me to the hospital. He soon came back to tell us that he could not find tuberculosis on my lung.
I was not surprised—I knew the Lord had healed me! I had no problem with tuberculosis from that day forward. I had been restored by Jesus.
James 5 says that believing-prayer will heal us, and Jesus will put us on our feet. If we confess our sins and pray for one another, we can live together whole and healed.
Prayer + Reflection
1. Pray regularly that you yourself will be healed, as James 5 says, “inside and out.”
2. Pray for those around you whether they appear physically ill or not, because Jesus heals emotionally and psychologically, as well as physically.
3. Pray that the Lord would make you spiritually sensitive to everyone you meet. When someone mentions they are ill, be quick to offer to pray for them. When someone crosses your path and they do not ask for prayer, when they do not appear to be sick, pray that the Lord will bring healing and wholeness to them inside and out.