Ministry of Grace Church

And the prayer of faith will save the sickly, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he may have committed sin, it will be forgiven him.

Truth to Learn

God chastens those whom He loves and He forgives those who submit to Him, confessing their sins.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “prayer” is not proseuchomai which was translated “prayer” in the previous two verses. This is a similar but different word, euchē. It refers to “a wish” or “a vow.” Since it is used in such obvious connection with proseuchomai, it is clear that James is referring to something other than simply a prayer. This word only appears in two other places in the New Testament (Act 18:18 and Act 21:23), both of which specifically refer to a “vow.”

The word translated “sickly” in this verse is also different from the word translated “sick” in the previous verse. Here it is kamnō, which refers to “one who is faint, weary, or sickly.” This implies that this is an ongoing sickness, producing weariness.

“Has committed” is translated from a form of poieō, meaning “to make” or “to do.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating past action with an ongoing effect with the emphasis on the effect. Hence, this implies that the ongoing sickness is the result of past sins that have not been dealt with.

 

Meaning Explained

James is not simply saying that a salvation prayer or a prayer of regaining ones salvation (if you believe one can lose one’s salvation, which the Scriptures do not teach) will produce the sought after healing in this verse. He’s talking about a vow of commitment to change one’s ways. It is apparently a vow that is made in the presence of spiritual leaders of the church and implies that the person knows the reason for the sickness (being the direct, chastening hand of a loving Heavenly Father).

Though not all unpleasant events in our lives are the direct result of chastening, we all need to learn to be sensitive to the disciplining God provides. In Hebrews 12:5, 6 it says:

… my son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be faint when you are being admonished by him; for whom the Lord loves he chastens …

We choose how we react to such chastening. We can either be like the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness being stiff necked and resisting such chastening, or we can humble ourselves before the hand of Almighty God and in due time He will lift us up. Personally, I don’t like the way God’s chastening feels, but I praise Him for it, because I know it is applied in love with the intent of making me more like His Son.

James tells us that sickness which is the result of refusal to deal with sin in one’s life can be healed. He clearly says that God will raise up such a person when he wholeheartedly vows to change his or her ways and submit to God.

 

Application

The worst thing a Christian can do is to resist God. If you are a born-again Christian and you are refusing to deal with sin in your life, God will chasten you, because He loves you. And, if this describes you, my dear brother or sister in Christ, I beg of you to humble yourself before God. Confess your sin and deal with it. You will discover that His mercy is great and His love is sure!