Today I, Miz Pink, shall take you to the Book of Jimmy…I mean, James, chapter 5, verses 13-18. (We’re going in a way different direction than Deke on this twofer tuesday topic)
People who love faith healing love this passage. And I really resent them for that and for abusing this poor little bit of God’s word so badly. Are ye sick? Get them elders togather to pray over ye and ye shall be healed. And if ye ain’t, ye must not have enough faith.
Deke has complained about the word of faith folks enough (here and here and here for example) and this is just a variation on that.
Dont get it twisted because James does want to show us the importance of prayer. I don’t think he wants us to warp his meaning all to heck though. Let me copy here what he said in the bible:
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Where praytell, did James say the person would be healed? Saved, yes, healed no. (For some other thoughts on what St. Jimmy wrote, if you care, go here or here or here as some starting points)
There is no promise that having a bunch of folks prayer over you and slather oil on you is going to cure your disease or injury. If that were the case, why did Paul have that “thorn in his side” that he couldn’t get to go away and that God told him he didn’t need to be cured of anyway? God never promised that we could pray our way out of sickness on the regular. If so, we wouldn’t be dying, would we, except by fatal accidents with large cliffs or speeding cars or whatever. We’ll get sick sometimes; that’s life.
Seeking prayer when we are sick or suffering is to find some relief. Maybe healing but maybe not. Strength, yes. Support, yes. Forgiveness, yes. Cure? Not always. Maybe not even often.
If you’re really, really sick I suggest maybe you go to the doctor first, and on the way to her office maybe ask some of the elders to pray for your good doc to do some good diagnostic work with you. Then after your appointment is over maybe the prayers and whooping and hollering and oil and whatnot.
Just a thought.
Hello there!
I know of MANY people who do not take action to save their lives, believing that God will rescue them from death “just like God rescued Daniel from the lion’s den”!!
There have been people in the church who died before their time, simply because they were mistaught.
Very sad.
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
P.S. I am showing the “CHURCH MAFIA” series at my blog so feel free to hop over! The video has been online for a long time but many of my readers had not heard of it so I decided to put it up and start a dialogue.
i totally agree with this pink!! people think that once they get saved, life automatically becomes perfect and they will no longer have problems with sickness, heartbreak, trials and tribulations. not only that, but when they do go through them, they turn their backs on God. but that is so far from the truth, it’s not funny. we have the same amount as anyone else, and oftentimes, more!! God does not promise us a pain or even trial free life once we accept Him as Saviour!! He does , however, promise that He will be there when we need Him. He offers guidance, strength,power,wisdom, and love. being a Christian does not give us a “free” pass to just glide through life problem free!! it does give us the best “insurance policy” anyone could ever have for the life we will live forever!! AND God promises not to give us more than we can handle with His help!! God Bless!!
Rather than address specific aspects of your blog entry offering yet another interpretation of James, chapter 5, verses 13-18, let me share this:
I have had many healings over the years using prayer alone. I have enjoyed amazingly good health. Because I care about my health, I submit to periodic medical checkups. Yet, I have had two medical issues that stubbornly resist both prayer and medical intervention.
My most recent healing occurred several years ago, under circumstances that I won’t share here for fear that it will be seen as too fantastical.
Let me briefly describe the problem: I was in an automobile accident, hit twice, only minutes apart, the first hit to the rear, the second sideswiping my right front fender/bumper.
For more than a month, pain was my daily and nightly visitant, at night waking me up intermittently so that I never slept soundly, finding it impossible to keep a pain-free position, although I took some rather strong painkillers. I couldn’t see my regular physician because I was transitioning to a new health plan.
I was healed while reading this Psalm (which I will reproduce here in its entirety for a reason):
Psalm 91
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
(KJV)
The key to the healing was discovering what the “secret place” is. Note the wonderful benefits that befall those that “dwelleth” there (protection against everything, including “any plague”. The promises of the Psalm, you might note, are given to the “dweller” not the occasional visitor, or the overnighter, but those who make the secret place their permanent residency.
After reading the Psalm, can you tell me what the “secret place” is?
If you have the answer, great; if you’re still looking and wish to take a peek at the answer, here it is:
“Because he hath set his love upon me [God]….”
And the rest: “…therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name….” His name? Could it be Love?
Simple, no?
Learning this bit of Good News, I immediately sent forth to God as much love that I could muster. The result: in pain one minute, out of pain the next.
That night I slept like the proverbial baby, wrapped in a blanket of gratitude, and under a sheet of praise.
So if we’re not receiving the promises of God, perhaps it’s because our mind and our heart are too nomadic, and disinclined to dwell in the one place that is truly our salvation.
“15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
Namaste
I am housepainter/carpenter. uninsured. About 8 or 9 years ago, I felt an excruciating pain in my back that drove me to my belly, and I spent about half an hour slithering up 3 steps back into my humble trailer park home. I spent the next couple of years having similar episodes, during which I would crawl into the E.R. and leave with a script for opiates and muscle relaxers. Then one time I went to Church,( I had been back in church for just a few weeks, I does me good to remember this…) and during the service I began to cry, hopelessly…I only knew A couple people there, but I so did not want to take pain pills every couple of months until I died. Before I left that day, people “laid hands” on me and prayed, which totally freaked me out, and made me really uncomfortable. Then a doctor that was there wrote me a prescription for steroids and told me to get a book. He explained that he thought I had a herniated disc, and that he used to have one too, but the “Lord” healed it. In my ignorance, I asked “How long did the Lord take?” and he replied “A little over eighteen months” and I was not very impressed.
Today, After reading the book, and doing the exercises, I am much better. The episodes are not nearly as frequent, (a couple times a year) and I usually can still walk. Today, I think that Doctor (Jim Walker, of Perry, Georgia) was telling the truth. What I have come to believe, is that ALL healing comes from the God…18 seconds or 18 months. We don’t even wake up with out His power. As for the finer points of Interpreting Scripture, I think that languages are funny, and scribes, theologians and translators are mere men. Some hairsplitting issues, God does not intend for us to resolve unequivocally. He would rather we seek to deepen an intimate relationship with Him. When you’re human, and you get everything figured out, that’s when you start to do things like the Inquisition, or the Salem Witch trials. God has healed me a thousand times, And left me afflicted, as suited him. Praise God.
Great post, Miz Pink. Thanks
Well, First Domino, I shouldn’t speak for Miz Pink but…well, hell, it IS my blog, so I’ll speak for her and she can slap me later if I’m off base.
I don’t think her point was to suggest that healing cannot occur through prayer but only that there is an expectation among some groups that you can MAKE healing come about through prayer.
As if faith is a bludgeon one can use to make God give someone what they want, when it may not be what they need or be something that God feels He should intervene on. There really are quite a few people who think prayer is something they can use to make things happen as THEY want them rather than leaning to God’s direction.
In any case, thanks for sharing your own testimony of the power of prayer. It does have power, as you point out so well; just a shame when some other folks make a mockery of it by turning it into a show or trying to make it a cosmic ATM machine.