Mature Faith and Prayer

A classic Christian prayer for healing reads: “O Lord God of our salvation, to whom no sickness is incurable, we pray that in your compassion you will drive away from your servants, who look for your heavenly medicine, all illness; show forth in them the might of your healing power, and make them whole both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Mature faith prays boldly within the will of God (see 1 John 5:14–15). The questions and answers that open today’s reading convey the tone that this is the right and obvious thing to do (vv. 13–14). When we’re in trouble, we should pray. When we’re happy, we should sing. When we’re sick, we should call the elders to pray and anoint us with oil.

In that context, oil had both a practical medicinal and a spiritual symbolic value. While in our culture we tend to separate the physical and the spiritual and thus see sin and sickness as separate issues, Jewish culture did not. From a biblical perspective, the two can be intermingled (see Mark 6:13; 1 Cor. 11:29–30). James has in mind here a situation in which an illness may have been caused by sin, though this does not imply that all illness is caused by sin (vv. 15–16).

In such a case, sins should be confessed. God will forgive, and healing may take place in response to the prayer of faith if God so chooses. The spiritual principle at work is that the “prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” As one study Bible puts it: “Prayer is not a magical incantation or a guarantee of healing, but when offered fervently by a righteous person, God will respond in a way that best fits his good purposes.”

Pray with Us

Please include Moody Aviation in your prayers today. James Conrad and Jan Seiersen provide administrative service so the Moody Aviation team can train students in missionary aviation. May the Lord always be a shining light in their lives.

BY Brad Baurain

Dr. Bradley Baurain is Professor and Program Head of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Moody Bible Institute. Bradley has the unique privilege of holding a degree from four different universities (including Moody). He is the author of On Waiting Well. Bradley taught in China, Vietnam, the United States, and Canada. Bradley and his wife, Julia, have four children and reside in Northwest Indiana.