James 5:13-16 “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.”

There’s nothing like sickness to bring us to our knees. Even people who do not fully believe in God will sometimes call on Him for healing. God can heal the physically sick, and in this passage we learn to rely on the prayers of others. There is power in numbers! Who can you call on that will pray for you? The prayers of others, on your behalf, can have a powerful effect. The church is meant to be a community that prays for and with one another. You can call on your pastors to call on God for you.

James seems to overlap physical sickness with spiritual sickness. Because of the fall, all brokenness results from sin, and sometimes sickness in the body is the spirit’s cry for help. Jesus didn’t just come to heal our bodies, even greater, He came to forgive our sin. Call on each other to pray for our bodies and for our sin struggles. Confess sin to trusted brothers or sisters, and pray together for healing.

Ask the Lord to reveal your sin to you. As it comes to mind, confess specifically to Him. Pray for your own spiritual and physical healing. Pray for those you know are hurting and for those stuck in sin, that God would graciously heal and forgive.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you are merciful and kind to sinners like me. Please forgive my sin and give me the faith to believe and walk in obedience. I lift up my friends who are hurting… and those who are caught in sin… please work in their lives to rescue and restore. Grow us into a church that prays for one another. In Jesus name. AMEN.