We all want healing. No one desires suffering, discomfort, or illness, nor do we want those around us to suffer. So when believers read what James 5 says about praying and anointing for healing, believers are often confused. Does this passage provide a surefire way to defeat disease? Or is this passage speaking about something else entirely? What does James say about praying for healing?
What Does the Text Say?
In this passage, James tells his readers that if they are sick, they are to call the elders together. Those elders are to pray over the afflicted believer and anoint his head with oil (Jas 5:14). James declares that the Lord will raise the one who is sick (Jas 5:15) because the prayer of a righteous person has great power (Jas 5:16).
Our personal experience tends to conflict with a cursory reading of this passage, though. If this was a ritual that would unquestionably cure anyone of his affliction, no church member would ever be sick. Pastors would be overloaded with calls from hospitals, nursing homes, and families pleading with them to come and anoint their loved ones. We can see, however, that this is not the case! A glance at any church’s prayer list will reveal that many are sick and dying. So, how should we interpret this passage?
What Does it Mean to Pray for Healing?
The main interpretations of this passage are that “raising” refers to the natural result of the sickness (either recovery or death), that this sickness refers to spiritual weakness, that this passage was a command that is no longer in effect since the cessation of gifts, or that this passage is Proverbial, not a promise.
Pray for Natural Results?
The weakest of the views of the interpretation of this passage is that the “raising” of the one who is sick could be a reference to the natural result of their physical affliction. Proponents of this view claim that the sick will be released from their sickness either by recovery or finally by death; after all, living together with the Lord forever is the best kind of “raising”!
The weakness of this view is that there is no need to pray if we are to simply wait for the natural outcome of sickness. If this raising up refers to whatever the natural result of the disease is, then why the commandment at all? Why call the elders or anoint with oil? Why pray over the sick? Que sera, sera (What will be will be!)!
The Bible rejects this apathetic fatalism! In the very next verse in the passage, James encourages us that God hears our prayers and acts upon them (though it is not always immediately clear how or why). Although we must be careful to avoid the heresy of “faith healers,” we must also reject the heresy of a low view of prayer. This interpretation is overly simple and reflects a fatalism incompatible with the rest of Scripture.
Pray against Spiritual Weakness?
Another interpretation of this passage is that this reference to sickness is not referring to physical ailment, but speaks of spiritual weakness. The Greek ἀσθενεῖ (asthenei), which is here translated as “sick” in almost every English translation, is also translated as “weak” or “weakness” in other passages in the New Testament.
Some Bible scholars argue that this is the best way to interpret this passage because they consider it certain that many believers would be weak spiritually after enduring intense persecution (Bigelow). They argue that there is no previous mention of physical ailments in James, but that James does encourage believers not to be discouraged by trials and temptations (Jobe). Others reason if this passage were about physical sickness, then the Bible would be making false promises because not everyone with a physical ailment anointed with oil and prayed over is healed. If the passage refers to spiritual “sickness,” then the rest of this passage makes sense because the Lord will raise His children who are spiritually sick if they confess their sins.
This interpretation has merit, but it ignores hundreds of years of interpretation by scholars and translation by linguists who all argued that asthenei means “sick.” James can also address physical ailments within the body without having referenced them previously. Reading this passage as speaking about physical sickness in no way compromises the passage, its context, or the overall themes of James. This view does not produce enough evidence to outweigh hundreds of years of interpretation of the passage as referring to sickness.
Pray for Supernatural Results?
The most likely interpretation of James 5:14-15 is that, while the gift of healing was still in effect, it was to be prescriptive, but now that there has been a cessation of miraculous gifts, the principles found in this passage are still applicable. It is very evident in Scripture that during the time of Jesus’s earthly ministry, He healed many and gave the gift of healing to His apostles (Luke 9:1). Even after our Lord ascended into heaven, the apostles continued to heal the sick (Acts 3:1-11; 6:8; 14:8-10). Even those who were not appointed apostles healed others (Acts 9:10-18), and Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians that some had the gift of healing (12:10,30). Given that James wrote between 45 and 50 AD (Got Questions), it seems logical to assume that James was prescribing this method of healing in the church.
However, the gift of healing has ceased and is no longer among us (1 Corinthians 13:8-13). This passage should not be discarded as a relic of the time before the cessation of gifts. The principles found in James are very applicable today. First, believers should be part of a local assembly that has elders (whether they be called elders or pastors). Scripture clearly teaches that being part of a local assembly of believers is the hallmark of a true follower of Christ (Hebrews 10:25, Acts 2:41-47). How can believers be support one another in their suffering in prayer and through ministering to each others’ physical needs without surrounding themselves with like-minded Christians?
Second, church members should clearly communicate with their elders and other believers in their assembly. A believer who is suffering cannot ask those who watch over him to pray for him if that believer has no communication with those leaders. A body of believers should be so in tune with the needs of its members that the absence of one member causes the body to seek to minister to that believer, especially if that member sincerely desires to be with the body but cannot because of physical affliction.
Finally, believers should always pray in faith for those who are sick. The verses following this passage tell how powerful our prayers can be. Although we do not know why, the Almighty God of the Universe deigns to listen to our pleas. And although we do not know how, our prayers have an effect on those around us as well as on our Creator. Therefore, we should not hesitate to boldly ask God to heal those suffering in our assemblies. This passage should encourage us to pray more earnestly for the recovery of those afflicted physically and spiritually, especially those who are members of our local body. Our cries to our Father are not in vain!
Conclusion
No matter what view we take of the interpretation of James, we can have confidence in our Great Physician. God’s Word, though at times difficult to understand, is precious because it comes directly from Him! In the Scriptures, we read that our Savior is gracious, merciful, and faithful. In this passage in James, it is clear that we must pray more diligently for those in our local assembly who are suffering. He will hear us when we pray!
