As James closes out the letter in the next few verses, he gives a series of directions, (not necessarily commands), but advice on living together in the Christian family of believers. This is the first of a series instructions that end the letter, on how to live while waiting for Christ’s return.
He deals with:
- praying for the sick in health and circumstances (vs. 13-15);
- prayer for those who are struggling in their faith (vs. 16-18);
- and helping those who struggle in their faith to return (vs. 19-20).
13 Are any among you in trouble? They should pray. Are any among you happy? They should sing praises.
14 Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord.
15 This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven.
V. 13 - “Are any among you in trouble? .” We see here in verses 13 and 14 James addressing the church body. (Key words: “any”, “anyone”) Looking back to chapter 4, verses 2-3, James is addressing the similar problem - i.e., asking with the wrong motives; but perhaps in this case, they are not praying enough, or at all. I think James had Paul’s admonition in mind when he wrote this advice. Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phi 4:6)
Both James and Paul combine supplication and praise. This would not be too unusual for Jewish believers because they have the Psalms to learn from. David often cried out to God for help, and included praise to God for His love and mercy.
A number of years ago, I was taught the acronym ‘ACTS’ as a guide for prayer.
“C” - Confession of sin to God, that we might be cleansed of sin and guilt
“T” - Thanksgiving - for all that the Lord has done and will do.
“S” - Supplication - speaking our requests to God.
Why is praise important to prayer? Praise helps us to focus on God, His majesty, His power, His love for us. Praise helps to prepare our hearts and minds to make our requests in the proper attitude - requests to the all-powerful, and all-loving God of the universe. We can bring nothing to Him but our worship of Him. We have no standing to make demands. We only have the privilege of asking as a child of the Most High God.
V. 14 - Are any among you sick?” - Prayer for times of sickness. It is entirely appropriate to ask for the church elders to come and pray for a sick person.
“church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil” - Any church member can pray for healing for another - this is not limited to the church elders. We may assume the elders are people in the church that have demonstrated a long-standing faith and obedience in Christ. These would be the local leaders of the church.
“Anointing with oil” is not a common practice in the modern church. What is the purpose of the oil? Several of the commentaries indicated that olive oil was considered medicinal. They did not have the advantage of modern medicine with antibiotics, etc. I do not know if there is any healing power in olive oil, but it is mentioned several times in scripture for this purpose (See: Mark 6:13 - healings; Isa 1:6 - wounds soothed; Luk 10:34 - wounds bandaged.) Anointing with oil was also a symbol of God’s blessing being poured out on a leader or a needy person.
"in the name of the Lord" - This is similar to ending prayers with “in the name of Jesus”. As noted above: asking in “Jesus’ Name” is appealing to God’s grace and mercy based on the price Christ paid for our sins. We appeal to the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We are not appealing to all three of the Godhead just in case one of them is not listening to our prayers. We do not need to get them to pay attention.
We are saying, “If You, O Lord, are willing, please heal this believer!” We do not know God’s will and purpose in the ‘micro-details’ of our lives. In the big picture, God wants all to believe and accept Him as Savior. Praying in the ‘name of the Lord’ always reminds us that we are totally dependent upon Him for life and breath and health. This is to focus our attention on the Lord, rather than on ourselves our abilities, our labor, our circumstances, our science and health system? (See also: John 16:23-26. - I think this statement means when we ask Jesus we are talking directly to God. Jesus is not an intermediary through whom we must funnel our prayers. We speak to Jesus, we speak to God Himself.)
V. 15 - This prayer made in faith will heal the sick ” - In this prayer session, the sick person asks the church elders to pray for him. The prayer of faith, by the elders, appeals to God and Jesus to heal. The healing comes from God, not the elders. (See note 1, below.)
“the sins they have committed will be forgiven.” - This is about prayers of intercession for the sick. The elders pray for the sick person, and two things happen - the sickness is healed and their sins are forgiven. We know from Luke 5:18-26, when a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus. The first thing Jesus did was to forgive the man’s sin. The Pharisees were incensed, “How dare you!” Jesus asked then which was easier, forgiving sins or healing a broken and sick body. Don’t both take intervention from the Lord God? If Jesus has the power, ability to forgive our sins, does he also not have the power to heal our bodies?
Note 1: I will admit I do not completely understand this verse (5:15). The statement is that the prayers of the elders will bring God to action who will heal the ill or injured person. If the elders pray, and the person is not healed, what is the problem? Did the elders not have the faith required? That last question is most likely the wrong question. I have heard people say that prayers are answered with a "Yes", or "No", or "Not Now." Both the 'No' and 'Not Now" brings us to the point of deciding if we will have faith in the Lord and trust Him. It is not a very robust faith if it is active only when I get the things I want - that is the behavior of a spoiled child.
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