Nipate
Forum => Controversial => Topic started by: GeeMail on December 18, 2014, 01:25:30 PM
-
http://www.absg.adventist.org/2014/4Q/TE/PDFs/ETQ414_12.pdf
Prayer for the Sick
(Review James 5:14–16.)
When healing is needed, James advises calling for the elders of the church.
“Is anyone among you sick? He should call in the church elders” (vs. 14, Amplified).
This advice should not be interpreted to mean that James advocates foregoing medical intervention. Rather, it is simply meant to direct our attention to the fact that there is a spiritual dimension to our ailments that must not be overlooked when healing is sought. Regardless of whatever route we choose to take on our healing journey, we should first seek the counsel and intervention of the Great Physician.
What, though, does James mean by the “sick” among you? It may seem
like a fairly obvious question with an equally obvious answer. But a fever
is one thing; a congenital defect, present since birth, is another. Does
James’s injunction include the healing of such birth defects and longstanding maladies, incurable illnesses, paralysis, et cetera? These are crucial questions. Looking at the origin of the word sick, in an attempt to parse out its meaning, is of great benefit in guiding our understanding as we seek for answers. The word sick, found in verse 14, comes from the Greek word astheneo, which means to be diseased, impotent, sick, or to be made weak. It also carries the meaning of “to be feeble in any sense.”—
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
Assertions or promises of this magnitude can be staggering, making many feel skeptical about claiming them. Moreover, if healing is sought but does not occur, the Christian community of faith is at risk for appearing to be a failure, or worse, fraudulent, raising doubts about the genuineness of the petitioner’s faith. All such fears and doubts are not from God.
The bottom line is this: the text covers or offers hope of healing for any ailment or condition. So, then, one may logically ask, why isn’t healing given every time a person seeks God in faith? The short answer is that every prayer for healing is always answered affirmatively—that is, with a Yes. The question is not
if God will heal the sick but when He will do it.
So, it is not a matter of twisting God’s arm but one of timing. Let’s explore
that concept further.
There are three possible moments of timing for divine healing: (1) instantaneous or immediate (as in the case of the paralytic Jesus healed, in Matthew 9:1–6); (2) gradual (as in the case of Naaman the leper, in 2 Kings 5); and (3) at the resurrection (as in the case of Paul’s “thorn” in the side, or Jacob’s hip (see 2 Cor. 12:7; Gen. 32:25).
Thus, prayers for healing are always answered affirmatively; it is simply a matter of timing as to when. The decision of timing belongs to God alone as to what will
bind us closest to Him and will bring the most glory to His name. Living with an ailment this side of heaven may be a special ministry to which God has called certain individuals in order that they may best serve Him and bless others.