Praying for the Sick

In James 5:14–16, Pastor James’ emphasis is on prayer for the sick in the church. These verses speak about the prayer of the elders, the prayer of faith, the prayer of the righteous, prayer to the Lord, prayer accompanied by anointing with oil, prayer confessing sins, prayer in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of every believer.

Generally speaking, divine health and healing are blessings from the Lord for the benefit of his holy people. The Lord himself said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you’” (Exod. 15:26). Moses exhorted, “Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time” (Deut. 4:40). The apostle John wrote to Gaius, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John 2).

Yet not everyone seeks healing from God. Some people seem to get used to their sicknesses—the more, the better. That is why Jesus himself initiated asking the man who had been not well for thirty-eight years, “Do you want to get well?”

God heals the sick according to his sovereign will. James tells us we must say, “If it is the Lord’s will” (Jas. 4:15) when we are praying for healing. In this passage, therefore, James gives us the divine order for praying for those who are sick in Christ’s holy church. And God in Jesus Christ will give healing to the whole man, as the psalmist declares: “He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases” (Ps. 103:4).

The Sick Call for the Elders

In James 5:13, James asked, “Anyone in trouble? Let him pray. Anyone happy? Let him sing.” Now he is giving a third condition: “Anyone sick? Let him call the elders to pray for him” (Jas. 5:14).

James is not speaking about colds or flu in this passage. He is referring to serious sickness, the sickness of those who have been in bed for some time. Such people are weak (Gk., asthenia). They have no strength to work. Yet James says they must take the initiative to call the elders of the church of which they are members.

In Mark 5 we read about a synagogue ruler whose twelve-year-old daughter was sick and dying. This man heard of Jesus, so he sent for Jesus to come and heal her, and he did.

“Call the elders of the church.” A church is not a club; it is the church of Jesus Christ himself, and the Lord Jesus Christ adds people to his church. This is called the theology of prosthetics. He does so by saving them from their sins (see Acts 2:41, 47). Some people claim they belong only to the invisible, universal church. But the Bible says we must belong to a local church. The New Testament speaks about churches in Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus, Rome, and so on.

The sick person must be a vital, obedient member of his church. James is talking about one who loves and serves God and his people in the church. He must belong to the one holy universal and apostolic church, where God’s word is preached, where Christ alone is the head, and where elders govern as Christ’s appointed officers, as Paul describes: “It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11).

In Acts 20 we read about Paul meeting with the elders of such a local church: “From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church” (Acts 20:17). Paul told these elders, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds [pastors] of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Similarly, the Hebrews writer exhorts his congregation, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority” (Heb. 13:17). Peter writes, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve” (1 Pet. 5:1–2). Elders, pastors, bishops—these terms all speak about the same people.

Elders are pastors as well as overseers. The members of God’s holy church are under their government. These elders are appointed by Christ and the Holy Spirit and recognized as such by the church. They are not hirelings. So James exhorts the sick, “Call first the elders of the church,” not a government official in charge of healthcare. If someone says he is only a member of an invisible, floating, universal church, he has no elders to call. Such people are simply deluded antinomians.

Do you belong to Christ’s church, a local church, where the Bible is preached by learned and godly pastors? Notice, James says, “Call the elders,” plural. The work of the church is not a one-man ministry. Paul tells Titus, “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you” (Titus 1:5). We are to call such elders.

They Pray over Him

James says the sick man should call the elders to “pray over him and anoint him with oil” (Jas. 5:14). The sick person who calls the elders also believes that God will heal him, based on this scripture. Such a person has been examining his life as he has been lying in his bed of sickness for quite some time. The Lord will humble us to make us lie down so that we can think about what sin we may have committed long ago that is related to our present weakness.

As the sick person examines his life, therefore, the Holy Spirit may reveal to him certain sins he committed in the past which he failed to confess, repent of, and forsake. In Proverbs we read, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13). And elsewhere the Lord promises, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). Sin has consequences, but we may not always experience those consequences until much later, as we read in 2 Samuel: “During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, ‘It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death’” (2 Sam. 21:1).

Though we may forget, God has a long memory of our unconfessed sins that we committed many years ago. Thus, we must examine ourselves. Paul writes, “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 11:28–30).

God disciplines his people for disobedience. The Lord Jesus must be obeyed. His will is revealed in the Bible. Therefore, we must read the Bible, and do what is right in the sight of God. If not, God will use his rod of discipline to drive out foolishness and to impart the fear of the Lord. So we must examine our hearts and ask God to examine them also. We are God’s children. So the following applies to us: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it out” (Prov. 22:15). And not only does the rod of correction drive out foolishness, it also imparts wisdom (Prov. 29:15). Spare the rod and spoil your children.

So we must examine ourselves. But we must also ask God to examine us and reveal our sin to us, because sometimes we examine ourselves and think everything is all right. We cannot examine as God does. We should pray to God: “See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24).

When we are stubborn and unrepentant, God will use weakness, sickness, and even death to correct us (see 1 Cor. 11:30). The psalmist declared, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. . . . It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. . . . I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me” (Ps. 119:67, 71, 75). God gives us affliction to bring us back to the straight and narrow way of his will, so that we may be blessed. Our heavenly Father uses the rod of discipline to bring his people from wandering.

After Jesus healed a man of his thirty-eight-year-long illness, he found him at the temple. Jesus warned this man, saying, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14).

God uses adversity of various kinds to correct us and bless us. The Lord will not tolerate autonomy in his people. So when we find ourselves on a bed of sickness, we should pray and examine ourselves to see if we have certain unconfessed sins. Then we should call the elders, confess our sins to them and to one another, that we may be healed. We must especially confess the sins of arrogance and autonomy.

In Psalm 32, David tells us that he suffered much psychosomatic distress because of his sins of adultery and murder against Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite: “When I kept silent,” that is, when he refused to confess, “my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.” We must not say, “I never sinned. I don’t remember anything. I have no idea why I am suffering in this way.” We must not lie before God. Then David concludes, “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’—and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Ps. 32:3–5).

God will not listen to the prayer of those who cling to the sin in their hearts. The psalmist says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” (Ps. 66:18–20).

If God reveals sin to us, we must go to the person we offended by sinning against him. We must confess our sins and receive forgiveness before we pray to God and call the elders to pray for our healing. Jesus spoke about this need for reconciliation: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23–24).

We must examine ourselves in the light of the word of God, not by our own standards. The standard by which we are judged is the whole Bible. And if we examine ourselves and confess and forsake our sins, the sins we have committed in the past shall be forgiven. God forgives our sins based on Christ’s atoning work on the cross.

Having, then, examined ourselves and repented, if we are sick, we should send for the elders of the church. Two or more elders should come. They should read James 5:13–16 and question us concerning the nature of our sickness. They should ask for any divine revelation of unconfessed sins of the past. We should confess to the elders, and God will forgive our sins.

In 1 John 1:9 we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The elders should then anoint us with oil, as the apostles did: “[The apostles] drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” (Mark 6:13). This anointing symbolizes the healing power of Jesus Christ through the oil of the Holy Spirit.

The elders should lay hands on us, and each elder should pray a prayer of faith for healing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They should sing a hymn and pronounce a blessing. Then they should go, leaving the issue in the Lord’s hands.¹And our text in James says that the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise us up. This verse 15 assures the total healing—spiritual and physical—immediately or in due time. The “prayer of faith” means faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ (Jas. 2:1), faith in Christ’s atonement, and faith in the whole Scripture.

We are healed through Christ’s work on the cross. Isaiah spoke about the suffering servant, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Peter speaks the same: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).

It was Calvin’s belief that this type of healing was only for the apostolic age. But James is not saying that. The sick person is not calling the apostles. He is calling for the permanent officers of the church, the elders. The prayer of faith especially of the elders is emphasized.

As we said, the prayer of faith means faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter said to the paralyzed man, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). Jesus told the woman who suffered for many years, “Daughter, your faith has healed you” (Mark 5:34). And Peter said in Acts 3:12, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” The apostle denied that the lame man’s healing had anything to do with Peter’s own power or godliness. Then he explained further, “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see” (Acts 3:16).

James already wrote in his epistle about praying in faith: “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (Jas. 1:6). The writer to the Hebrews says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 11:6).

In response to the prayer of faith, the Lord himself will raise the sick person and he will be healed. His strength will come back, and in due time he will be ready to serve the Lord.

This prayer of faith is specific. It has to do with the healing of the sick person. When Jesus sent out apostles, he told them, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8).

Always remember, it is the Lord who heals, not the elders. The elders pray to the Lord. The elders pray for the sick. The elders come and anoint the sick with oil and call upon the Lord Jesus to heal, based on Christ’s atoning work for sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ heals the sick.

What Is the Key to a Healthy Church?

Then James says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (Jas. 5:16). For a church to be healthy, members of the church must confess their sins one to another and pray for one another. It is not just up to the elders to pray. As we already said, we must go to the people against whom we sinned and be reconciled. And if we see a brother sin, we must go to him and tell him that he must repent, and God will forgive him and we will forgive him. This is what Jesus taught: “When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25).

What about having a healthy relationship between husband and wife in the home? Peter says, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Pet. 3:7). Paul writes, “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph. 4:26–27). Jesus said, “So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3).

Thus, in the home as well as in the church, we must go to the one we sinned against. We must confess our sins to him or her. The offended person must forgive the offender. Both must pray for one another to stay spiritually healthy by not giving the devil an advantage against us. We must practice this principle between husband and wife, parents and children, and among children. We must practice this principle at work also. The offended also has a responsibility to go to the one who sinned against him, that he may repent, that peace may prevail. And above all, we must be filled with the Spirit, that we may not be easily offended for every silly reason.

What a great blessing comes to us through confession, forgiveness, and prayer! As a result, we are healed in the whole man in spirit and in body. Then we will have healthy churches, healthy homes, and healthy workplaces.

“The prayer of a righteous man is very powerful in its effects” (Jas. 5:16, author’s translation). Who is a righteous man? He is a justified man. He lives a righteous life. Yet he is not a spiritual superman. He is not perfect. Only at death will the perfection of our spirits come through divine action.

Christians are those who are saved by grace. But sin still dwells in them. They live daily by repentance and faith. So Christians may sin. But they also repent, confess, forgive, and receive forgiveness. Christians pray for one another. Such people are righteous in God’s sight. And their prayers in the name of the Lord are very powerful in their effects.

This verse gives us great comfort and great hope. James is not speaking about the prayer of those who are perfect and sinless. As Peter said, “It was not my power or godliness that healed this person. It is Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, who healed this man, and faith in him—faith that comes from him to us.”

The prayer of a righteous person effects healing. This is the key to a healthy church.

Teaching of the Whole Scripture on Healing

Let us examine twenty-two propositions so that we can have a systematic theological understanding of praying for the sick and healing. What does the Scripture in its totality teach about healing?

1. The Lord heals sick believers in response to the elders’ prayer of faith. This truth is taught in the Bible: “If anyone among you is sick, call the elders of the church. Let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick person. And the Lord will raise him up” (Jas. 5:14–15). This verse gives us assurance that we can be healed.
2. The Lord will not always heal all sick people in the church. Otherwise, we would live forever. Most of us will die. Only those who are alive at Christ’s return will not experience death, as Paul writes, “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess. 4:17; see also 1 Cor. 15:51–52). But most will die, as we read in Hebrews: It is appointed for man once to die and then comes the judgment (Heb. 9:27). However, believers who die go immediately into God’s presence, that is, to paradise, in their perfected spirits. They are truly blessed, as we read in Revelation 14:13: “Blessed are [those] who die in the Lord.” Their death is not a loss but a gain for them, as Paul declared, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). If we have only hope in this world, we are to be pitied and are most miserable. If this is true of you, I command and beseech you to love the world to come and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is presently seated on the right hand of God the Father, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth is given.
3. Yet some believers will not be healed for their own greater spiritual good. Paul was not healed, and it resulted in great spiritual good. He wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 12. He begins, “To keep me from becoming conceited . . . ” (2 Cor. 12:7). Arrogance is the greatest sin in the world. We have no reason to be arrogant; it is a demon activity. “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” Paul was never healed. And the same is true of many people of God, such as Calvin, Spurgeon and others. These all suffered from certain diseases that kept them from becoming arrogant but seeking God.
4. God gives us great grace to endure affliction. So Paul says, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12:8–9; see also Rom. 5:3).
5. God works in all things for our spiritual good, whether we experience prosperity or adversity. This is especially important for those who are sick. (PGM) So Paul says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The writer to the Hebrews says, “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness” (Heb. 12:10). That is the purpose of afflictions and trials that God sends our way, so that we may share in his holiness. God’s purpose is that we be conformed to the image of his Son.
6. Whether we are healed or not is ultimately based on the will of God. James said, “If it is the Lord’s will” (4:15). Jesus himself prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. Yet not my will but thine be done” (Luke 22:44). It was the will of God that he go to the cross, that our sins may be forgiven and that we may be brought to paradise. There is no other way. Thank God that Christ died for our sins.
7. God’s eternal purpose is not to make us rich and famous, but to make us holy and blameless, so that we may enjoy eternal fellowship with him. This is the beatific vision. So we read, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Eph. 1:4). In the same epistle we read, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25–27; see also Jude 24). Let me tell you, God will achieve his purpose in his elect people.
8. Some are not healed of their diseases because they refuse to repent. The Bible says we must not conceal our sin but confess and forsake it, and we will receive mercy (Prov. 28:13). Paul says, “For this reason many of you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 11:30). “For this reason” means “because of sin.” And we also read, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). Our chief problem is sin. Sin leads to sickness and death.
9. All healing, whether it comes through prayer alone, or with prayer and medicine, is from God. James says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (Jas. 1:17). Some churches teach that taking medicine is a sin, a sign of unbelief, and in some churches, people do experience miracles of healing. But we oppose the view that people should not take medicine.
10. All divine healing accomplished by prayer, or prayer and medicine, involves both body and soul. Man is a unit; our sin affects both the body and the spirit. Real divine healing has to do with the totality of a person.
11. All healing is based on Christ’s atonement for our sins because sin is our basic problem. So we read, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).
12. Some sickness is due to specific sins. In John 5 we read about a man who received healing from Jesus. “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you’” (John 5:14). That does not mean every sickness is due to sin. It is not. In John 9 we see a man born blind. The disciples asked Jesus who sinned, the man or his parents, because he was born blind. Neither, Jesus said, but this happened for the glory of God (see John 9:1–5). So we cannot say every sickness is due to sin.
13. Some people do not want to be healed. For instance, in Acts 3 there was a man crippled from birth who was carried to the Beautiful Gate every day to beg. He heard about Jesus and what he did. He heard the story of how Jesus healed people and how the apostles were healing people. But this man did not ask the disciples for healing; he asked for money. For many people, sickness becomes a way to make a living. They do not want to be healed. They have gotten used to being sick. In fact, they want more sicknesses to be added to their list so they can get disability and various other benefits. This man became accustomed to his condition because he could get money from sympathetic passers-by. In contrast, blind Bartimaeus said, “I don’t want money. Jesus, have mercy upon me!” Jesus stopped and asked, “What do you want?” He said, “I want sight.” And he was given sight (Mark 10:6–52 and elsewhere). Don’t let your sickness become an asset you can use to tell other people to take care of you. May God give us understanding so that we may receive grace from God.
14. God uses his medicine also for healing. Paul’s admonition to Timothy infers that he was a semi-invalid. In 1 Timothy 5:23 Paul exhorts, “Stop drinking water.” That is in the Greek. The English translation says, “Stop drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent sicknesses” (1 Tim. 5:23). Just like Paul, Timothy was not healed, in God’s will. He was characterized by “frequent sicknesses.”
15. It is not a sign of great faith to refuse medicine and die. People have died because they would not take medicine when it was available. But to receive medical help is not a sign of unbelief.
16. This passage, James 5:13–16, has absolutely nothing to do with the superstition of the so-called sacrament of extreme unction. That sacrament is given to people who are dying. That is not what James is teaching. The elders are to come and pray for the sick people so that they may live.
17. Trophimus was not healed even though the apostle Paul himself prayed for him. Paul writes, “Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2 Tim. 4:20). Paul prayed, but Trophimus was not healed, so Paul had to leave him behind.
18. Healing may take place gradually in response to the prayer of faith. For example, look at what Paul wrote about Epaphroditus: “Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow” (Phil. 2:27). In other words, eventually Epaphroditus was healed.
19. Praying for the sick by the elders is something the church must practice until the return of Christ. I disagree with John Calvin’s view that it was for the apostolic age only.
20. Some people die prematurely because they are proud and refuse to repent. King Asa was a great man who began in faith. Then he became arrogant and refused to trust in God. When the prophet Hanani came and rebuked him, Asa put Hanani in prison. It is possible that the jailers put the prophet’s feet in stocks. But God eventually gave the king a disease in his feet. Even in his disease, he refused to repent and seek God, so God killed him (2 Chron. 16:11–13; see again 1 Cor. 11:30).
21. It is the general will of God that his covenant people be prosperous and healthy. There are exceptions, but it is generally true. The psalmist says of the godly man, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Ps. 1:3). John writes, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John 2). Soul and body health. It is the general will of God.
22. Let us thank God for the privilege of prayer, because the prayer of a righteous man is very powerful in its effects. Yes, we sin, but we also repent and believe and turn to God. And God considers us to be righteous. Thank God, he hears our prayers, though we are not perfect. We will only be perfect when we die (Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 37).

Let Us Pray!

So let us keep on praying and experience God’s deliverance, healing, and blessing on our lives. Prayer is a great privilege given to us by God. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven” (see Matt. 6:9–13). Paul instructs, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5: 16–18). He also exhorts, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6–7).

Thank God for the privilege of prayer! Paul also concludes his letter to the Ephesians: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).

In the nineteenth century, God raised up a man named George Müller, a German Lutheran who came to England, to teach us how to pray. Müller kept diaries recording how God answered specific prayers. He never begged for a dime, even though he was responsible for thousands of orphans in the orphanages he established. All monies came by divine action. Müller also prayed for the salvation of several people for many years and God eventually saved all of them, even though some were saved after his death.

Thank God for the right we have to come before God the Father to pray. We are welcome to come into his presence any time. No appointment is necessary. The prayer of a righteous man is very powerful in its effects. I call upon all of us to pray. And may we experience God answering our prayers by helping us, guiding us, showing us the way to go, and healing us.

¹ These points are summarized by R. Kent Hughes, James: Faith That Works(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1991), 256–257.