Prayer with Others


James 5:14-15
14 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.
15 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.

 The entire book of James is really about how we treat one another in the Body of Christ.  He never says those exact words, but that is at the center of his message. Many of the more salient points have had to do with the use of the tongue. It can get us in to such big trouble. Open mouth, insert foot. But in these verse, James gives us something utterly fantastic we can do with that same tongue - we can pray for our brothers and sisters; especially those in need of healing. Now we are encourage to open our mouths and speak to The Lord about those who are in need of a touch from His hand.

 Prayer is such a fantastic gift to give to another. It is personal, important, and so very useful. The obvious path here would be to question how many times you have passed up the opportunity to pray with another person. But that really isn't helpful. Instead I want to encourage you to try it! Everyone expects the pastor to come to their bedside when they are very ill and bring along words of prayer. But your prayers are just as good as his. The pastor doesn't have a secret passage way to God that only he and other pastors know. His prayers carry the same amount of weight before the throne as yours!

 Almost 20 years ago now, I had cancer surgery. One memory from that time is branded onto my brain. Two of my friends came to see me and all they did was pray over me, asking God for healing and protection. Because of the pain medications, I was unable to really put two thoughts together. So God sent them to pray with me, bringing peace and assurance to my spirit. It is one of my most cherished memories and it comes to me as a reminder that praying with others is vitally important. Those two friends were Jesus to me that day.

 Just on a side note - anointing with oil was a medicinal practice during the time of James writing. Plus there is a reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the oil. When you go to pray with your friends, anointing them with oil isn't absolutely necessary. The prayer is the most significant part - try it out!

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