James 5:13-16
“Our Very Oxygen”
By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pator of East Ridge UMC, Chattanooga, TN
Prayer is the very oxygen through which our souls breathe.
I remember driving on a snowy road as a teenager, and going a bit too fast.
A buddy of mine and I were heading to another friend’s house.
Suddenly, I hit an icy patch going around a curb and lost control of the car.
If this has ever happened to you; you know what I mean when I say it is a very odd and scary second or two.
For as the car is careening out of control, you are not yet hurt in any way…
…the heater is still blasting, the radio is still playing one of your favorite songs…
…your bottom is still safely secure in your seat…
…but…
…You know SOMETHING is going to happen to change all that, and it is going to happen fast!!!
I would imagine, that it is in these kinds of situations, that the most prayers are raised!
Well, we slid from one side of the road to the other…
…and then whoomf!!!!
We landed in the ditch.
But we weren’t hurt.
The first thing out of my friend’s mouth was, “Praise the Lord!”
Hmmm…
…I’d been praying, but I had no idea that my friend had been praying as well.
James, the brother of Jesus, instructs us, “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.
Is anyone happy?
Let him sing songs of praise.”
Prayer is to be a continual exercise; it should be as habitual as breathing in and out.
Without it, our souls will suffocate!
Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the World, was in constant communication with God the Father.
In John Chapter 10 Jesus proclaims, “I and the Father are one,” and in the same passage He says, “the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
In Chapter 5 Jesus tells His listeners, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
Again, Jesus was in constant communication with God the Father, and because of Christ’s perfect obedience we too—are able to have unencumbered access to God the Father!!!
Paul proclaims in 1 Timothy Chapter 2: “there is one God and one mediator between God and [humankind], the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all…”
It is only through constant prayer that we are able to even come close to walking hand in hand with Jesus.
In Galatians Chapter 5 Paul tells us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Again, this is only possible through constant communication.
And the fruit of keeping in step with the Spirit of God is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
These are the attributes of God which are available to us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
How amazing is the Christian journey!!!
As the famous hymn proclaims,
“What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.”
But notice, that these things are spiritual attributes; not necessarily physical.
All of us become sick, do we not?
All of us deal with some kind of physical ailment—either throughout our lives, during a time in our life, or near the end of our lives.
We will all die.
At the same time, Scripture strongly affirms healing.
Jesus healed many, as did the apostles.
And we are called, as in James Chapter 5, to pray for the sick and anoint the sick with oil.
This is something we will be doing this evening.
The root word for healing in New Testament Greek is sozo, it’s the same word for salvation and wholeness!!!
Healing is God’s work of offering persons balance, harmony, the wholeness of body, mind and spirit, and relationships through confession, forgiveness and reconciliation.
But we must remember that healing is not magic!
Many of us, at some time or another will ask, “Why does God not answer all prayer?”
As we mature in our faith and experience, I believe we will find that God does indeed answer all prayer…
…but not necessarily in the way we would want!
I remember, at about the age of 5, I prayed that God would somehow, magically, cause a brand new red corvette to replace the old and ugly blue Plymouth Valiant which sat in our driveway.
I couldn’t wait, as I ran from my room, to get to the bottom of the stairs and look out the window.
I must admit, I was terribly disappointed to find that God does not give us everything we ask for…
…God answers all prayers…
…but with either a yes, no or not at this time!!!
I’m still waiting for that red corvette!
Prayer is not magic and neither is healing.
God is not a Genie in a bottle.
God is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, Who holds the mystery of life and of death…
…even as we still see “as through a mirror dimly.”
Healing is not magic, but underlying it is the great mystery of God’s love.
We are called be ministers of spiritual healing, for in doing so, we are channels of God’s love.
And although no one can predict what will happen in a given circumstance or instance, many marvelous healings have taken place!!!
At the same time, God does not promise that we shall be spared suffering, but does promise to be with us in our suffering!!!
A dear friend of our family and member of the church I grew up in was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer.
The doctor who diagnosed her was understandably worried about “how” she would be able to deal with the situation.
“I will be alright,” she answered.
“Jesus is with me.”
She lived with my parents until she passed away.
But Jesus was indeed with her, through it all!
And one way Jesus was with her, was by using Christian brothers and sisters to minister to her during her time of suffering.
God does not promise that we will be cured of all illnesses; and we all must face the inevitability of death.
A Service of Healing is not necessarily a Service of Curing, but it provides an atmosphere in which healing can happen as God gives each one of us the privilege of ministering to one another.
As we pray for healing, believing that God does indeed heal all who pray for healing…
…we must understand that some healing comes in the form of the ability to live with what physical ailments we have triumphantly—with the peace of God, and a life that shines forth the glory of God as we are able to even rejoice in our suffering!!!
Such lives are able to give other’s hope during their time of illness!
And we all suffer from some sort of illness, do we not?
Many of us have some physical ailment…diabetes, arthritis, muscle pains…
…and most of us deal with some degree of mental illness.
No one is completely whole.
We are never completely well, until we enter the new land—the new Jerusalem, clothed with our new bodies which are imperishable, undefiled and everlasting!!!
The greatest healing of all is the reunion and reconciliation of a human being with God.
And this is one type of healing which will always happen; when it is asked for in Spirit and in Truth through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!!!
No one is turned away by Christ, Who died to save the world!!!
And when persons turn to Christ for salvation, physical healing sometimes occurs and mental and emotional balance is often restored!
For the Christian, the basic purpose of spiritual healing is to renew and strengthen our relationship with the Living Christ!!!
In 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, the great Apostle Paul confesses to some sort of physical ailment.
He writes, “To keep me from being conceited…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
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.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Talk about healing!!!
Talk about perfect freedom!!!
Talk about life and life to the full!!!
Talk about answered prayer!!!!
When Jesus was about to be arrested and sent off to be crucified; he went away to pray by Himself.
We are told, in Matthew 26 that Jesus “began to be sorrowful and troubled…
… He said, “My soul is overwhelmed…”
We are told that Christ “fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.
Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
If the Father had taken that cup from Jesus; we would have no way to be saved…let alone healed!
Prayer is the very oxygen through which our souls breathe.
“Is anyone of you in trouble?
He should pray.
Is anyone happy?
Let him sing songs of praise.
Is any one of you sick?
He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up…”
