James 5:13-16
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Over the past year I have met twice with a woman who does not attend FBCG but who sought spiritual counsel as the primary care-giver for a sister struggling with a debilitating illness. In our first conversation she simply shared the sadness and helplessness that she felt as she watched her sister suffer. At our last conversation she shared that her sister had indeed passed away but that she was still struggling to understand why God had allowed such suffering.
At one point she said, “I don’t know how to pray; I don’t know if I even want to pray.”
I asked her if she felt more angry or sad about her sister’s death. She said, “Probably both.”
I said, “Pray what you feel.”
She said, “What do you mean?”
I quoted from Romans 8:
In the same way, the Spirit helps in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26
I told her that prayer is a relationship with God and that all relationships begin with some degree of honesty. I told her that God already knows our hearts and when we share our hearts with him we, in a way, are agreeing to an intimate relationship with him.
Confession is honesty with God. Confession means being honest with God about our pain and our joy, as well as our sin.
James is pointing us here to a miracle greater than physical healing.
In Mark 2 four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus hoping for physical healing. Jesus looks at the man and and his friends and says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Those watching are confused and surprised. Some are offended that Jesus has dared to equate himself to God by offering forgiveness for sin. Others undoubtedly are confused because the man has obvious physical needs that Jesus seems to have ignored.
Then Jesus says something very important.
Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” (Mark 2:8-11)
In short, Jesus performs two miracles in this story. He heals a paralyzed man, restoring his physical ability to walk; and he forgives the man’s sins, thus healing his soul for all eternity.
Which is the greater miracle?
Sometimes we forget that, as important as physical health and healing are, spiritual healing is far more important in the scope of eternity.
I think this is what James is teaching us when he says:
If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
He is not saying that God will not grant physical healing if we fail to confess our sins. He is not saying that we are sick because of unconfessed sin. He is saying that while physical healing from sickness and disease is important, spiritual healing through the forgiveness of sin is far more important; and he wants us to know that we are invited to pray for both.
Brian Coffey
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