Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. (James 5:13-15, NLT)
It’s hard to complain here in Southern California where the skies are sunny and golf is always available, but bear with me. The fall here is when clubs shut down for overseeding the fairways and aerifying the putting greens. Our course superintendent shared with me how important it is to do this at least twice a year, because it gives the greens and fairways a chance to be stronger for the winter season.
But no matter where you play, you know that when crews punch big holes in the putting greens to let air and nutrients reach the roots, it’s no fun to play those greens for 2-4 weeks. They’re bumpy, furry, and soft.
Like golf, life comes with many challenges. Some we can play for and steer around—like the golfer who finds another hobby during the weeks of overseeding and aerification. Sometimes, we can make the best of a bad situation, like focusing on our ballstriking for a while and not concerning ourselves with putting. But at other times, all we can do is endure, prayerfully calling on God until the circumstances change.
James knew that when we pray, God will hear and answer. Healing will come for the sick and forgiveness for the sinful.James understood the blessing of prayer in hard times. James was what we might call a “prayer warrior.” Reports said his knees where like a camel’s knees because he was constantly in prayer.
When he sat down to write the letter that became part of the New Testament epistles, James first recognized that we would all “face troubles of any kind.” Now, as he moved to the close of his letter, he mentioned what some of those troubles might be: suffering, sickness, and sinfulness. Any of these can come down on us like the blow of a hammer or nag away at us like a dripping faucet.
But James knew that when we pray, God will hear and answer. Healing will come for the sick and forgiveness for the sinful. I love those promises!
In our church, we have an elder prayer room and our pastor invites anyone who is suffering and needs prayer for physical, emotional, or spiritual healing to visit the room after the service. There the elders pray over you in faith and anoint you with oil. The oil has no medicinal purpose and neither the prayers nor the elders do the healing. But the elders have faith in God, that he will uphold the promises of his word and heal the sick.
I celebrate this message of the healing power of God, as I have been blessed to see people pray this prayer in faith and be healed. Also, I have seen people be healed in ways I would never have thought—healed mentally and spiritually.
A mentor of mine used to say: “God is in control and is good all the time.” I know this to be true. But I also know his goodness shows up in response to our prayers, when we call out to him in the face of our troubles.
—
Dereck Wong
October 8, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
Photo by krista davis from FreeImages