PAIN ETCHED SALLY’S FACE. Nerves damaged by radiation treatments left her in constant agony. “The doctors say they can do nothing more,” she said. “God is my only hope. I noticed a passage on healing in James 5 yesterday that might help.”
As she opened her Bible, I saw two verses underlined in red: “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.”
“Would you please gather the elders and pray for me?” she asked.
It wasn’t that simple.
I grew up in a denomination that ill-prepared me for her request. The unwritten but strongly implied rule of our denominational culture stated that pastors who ministered in the area of healing were charismatic at best and deluded at worst. Also, our churches were organized around deacons; we had no elders. Furthermore, I was not sure what a “prayer of faith” was. Finally, I had never anointed anyone with oil and was not certain how to do it.
I chose my words carefully: “Sally, you are the first person to ask me to pray for healing according to James 5. I am not certain what to do.” I explained my pastoral dilemma and then proposed a solution: “I suggest that we both pray and fast for five days. I’ll meet you in my office next Friday afternoon, and if God tells us to proceed, we will.”
Sally was no novice. She had walked with God for many years. She agreed to the proposal.
Five days later we both wrote on paper what we thought God told us and then exchanged papers. The conclusions were identical. We made plans for a healing service on Sunday afternoon. Since we had no elders at the time, I invited our deacons.
During the thirty minutes before Sally arrived, I explained to the deacons her request, the background to her pain, and what I knew of James 5:14-15. I asked if anyone had participated in a healing service before. No hands raised.
When Sally arrived, we asked her to confess any known sin, because James mentions this in verse 16. When she finished, I took the bottle from Lucky’s Supermarket and prepared to pour olive oil over her head. One of the deacons averted a mess when he shook his head and whispered that a drop on a finger applied lightly to her forehead might work better. We took turns passing the bottle, anointing her with oil, and praying for her.
I wondered if perhaps Sally would now leap up like on television and shout, “Glory to God! I’m healed!” But nothing happened. As she quietly departed, she thanked us for our prayers and left a room filled with disappointed confusion mixed with a measure of hope.
Unknown to us, the healing service had just moved to another time and place. In the early morning hours, Sally was awakened by a strange sensation and knew instantly that she was healed. By the time she was out of bed, the pain was gone, never to return. Later Sally related to me an intriguing aside; “I think the reason God did not heal me in front of the deacons was because they might get proud. I think God waited until I was alone so he would get all the glory.”
From that inauspicious beginning, God began to weave a physical healing ministry into our church fabric. I have developed a working theology of healing that is fashioned out of biblical texts, a solid dose of practical reality, and hours spent asking God for help in all sorts of complex situations.
Stepping out
Healing prayers are risky. When it appears that my prayers are not working, I feel embarrassed, like a failure. At times I have prayed for things that were flat-out wrong. Occasionally I have sensed pressure to pray for things that were not from God. Some prayers have produced the results I wanted, and some have not. Some people have gotten well, and some have died.
One time I prayed something that I knew in my inner spirit would not happen, but I prayed anyway because I wanted to give hope and encouragement to a young mother. Along with nine others, I was praying for a woman whose breast cancer had raged out of control. When the cancer was discovered early in her pregnancy, the doctors recommended an immediate abortion because chemotherapy would kill the unborn baby. At great risk to herself, she delayed the treatments and carried her child to term. The delay proved costly.
She lay dying as we gathered to pray the prayers of James 5. As I dipped my finger in the oil and placed it gently on her forehead, I knew deep in my spirit that she was going to die. Nevertheless, I prayed earnestly for God’s healing and thanked him in advance that all would be well. I had lied in my prayer. Several months later I stood in deep snow in a lonely country cemetery in northern Arizona with her widowed husband and three children as they lowered her casket into the grave.
While that was not the first—or last—mistake I have made praying healing prayers, I’ve determined that the risk of a few embarrassing incidents is small compared to the joy and success that comes as a result of such prayers. I believe many people who would have remained sick were healed because our leaders followed the instructions of James 5.
Robert was a Wycliffe Bible translator who went into anaphylactic shock after being bitten by a desert insect. He was comatose by the time the emergency helicopter flew him to the hospital. His wife knew the odds for a full recovery were dim. The EEG showed not much was working. But her strong faith in God strengthened and inspired the many friends who had gathered in the lobby to pray.
As we circled and held hands, I told God there was no reason for Robert to die. He was young. He had children to raise. His New Testament translation was three-fourths done, and there was no need to let years of work go to waste. I told God that we desired a full recovery with no brain damage or long-term complications. I also told God we would yield to whatever he had in mind. Then I asked Christ to strengthen the family for any upcoming situation. I never mentioned James 5.
But a week later, his wife did.
“Would you gather the elders and come to the hospital and pray for my husband?” she asked.
After securing permission from the ICU nurse, eight men and I circled the bed of the unconscious Wycliffe translator. Before entering the ICU, we had prayed together and sensed a deep assurance that Robert would be healed. It was easy now to pray the prayer of faith and thank God for Robert’s healing. While we prayed, I noticed several nurses and doctors peek in on the proceedings. Two hours after we left, his wife called: Robert was sitting up in bed asking for something to eat.
Interactive understanding
While this may seem elementary, I must say this up front: It is not always God’s will to heal. He sometimes has other things in mind. In John 9 Jesus healed a man born blind: “His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
” ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’ “
The apostle Paul accomplished some powerful healing and resurrection miracles; however, he did not do it every time. He could not help his sick friend Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-27). He left Trophimus sick in Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20). Instead of sending Timothy to the local faith healer, Paul told him to drink a little wine for his stomach troubles. When Paul was unable to find relief from his “thorn,” God sent Dr. Luke as his companion.
My first child, Jessie, was born to die young; she entered this world with a birth defect. Several hours after her birth, I struggled with God: “Why us? Why do we get the baby who’s going to die? We’ve dedicated our lives to serving you. Is this all the thanks we get?”
Eight months later Jessie died in my arms. My wife and I watched her breath fade slowly. Finally Julie said, “Roger, she’s gone.” I placed my cheek to her nostrils and felt nothing. In unison Julie and I said, “Hi, Jessie. We’re your Mommy and Daddy. We love you with all our hearts.” We knew she was more alive then than ever before.
Several months after the funeral, I pondered why Julie, Jessie, and I suffered through that experience. In the early days of my ministry, I hammered out a theology to explain why God allows sickness, suffering, and tragedies. The following checklist does not attempt to answer all the issues of evil in the world, but it helps me make sense out of life.
- Was Jessie’s a sickness unto death? Yes, sometimes it is time to die. God never guarantees anyone a set number of years. Some live to the ripe age of eighty-five. Others fulfill their life destiny by the age of two.
- Was Jessie’s sickness the result of some sin? The sins of the fathers are visited even to the third and fourth generation. I could think of all kinds of sins I had committed. If God wanted to punish me with a dying daughter, he had plenty of justification.
- Was this affliction for God’s glory? God received glory from healing the blind man in John 9, and sometimes God allows trials and experiences to conform his children into the image of Christ.
While pondering that last question, I experienced one of those overwhelming moments when the Holy Spirit etches an impression deeply upon the heart. The message in my inner spirit was precise: Roger, Jessie’s sickness was no accident; it was designed for my glory. Do you know how much you hurt to have a baby unable to grow up physically?
“Yes, Lord, I know, it hurts.”
Then God impressed upon me. Now you know how much I hurt when a Christian refuses to grow up spiritually.
My entire ministry refocused that day toward helping Christians grow to spiritual maturity. Eternity will reveal how much glory God received as a result of Jessie’s eight-month life.
Prayers for healing are not exercised solely on the basis of our faith, our will, or our wishes. They must also include a process that attempts to discern the will of God. When God’s will is not discernible, the sick need guidance to pray for acceptance of whatever God may have in mind.
Word-based prayer
The prayer of faith does not demand a leap into the unknown. It is not positive thinking. It does not mean “to believe something so strongly that we make it come true” or that God must do what we believe. The prayer of faith does not rest on feelings or desires. It is based on a word from God. In every case, the heroes of Hebrews 11 based their faith on a word they heard from God.
The prayer of faith can be prayed only after God reveals his intentions. By definition, it is not possible to pray in faith when there has been no word from God. However, on those occasions when God makes his will clearly known, I find it exciting to pray and watch God work.
My first attempt at praying a prayer of faith occurred when a young mother was rushed to the hospital with a brain aneurysm. As I walked down the hospital corridor, I contemplated what words of comfort I should say to her and what I should pray to God. I paused outside her door to seek God’s will. Several moments later, I had a deep impression that she was going to be fine. I asked God if he were trying to tell me something. In my innermost being, I sensed God say that Rhonda’s sickness was not unto death. She would survive with no complications and live to raise her children. An intense mental struggle ensued: Was God really speaking to me? Was 1 just making this up? What if I told her what I heard and she died; I would look like a fool.
However, I could not ignore the fact that immediately after I asked God how to handle this situation, I got a response.
When I walked into the room, Rhonda was awake, alert, and afraid. “Surgery is scheduled for Monday,” she said. “The doctors want the swelling to subside before they operate. There is no guarantee that the artery will hold until then.” Fear filled her eyes.
With all the courage I had, I looked into her eyes and said, “Rhonda, God told me that your sickness is not unto death. Whether the doctors will operate on Monday, I don’t know, but you are going to be fine. Be at peace. All is well.”
Never had I said words as bold and direct as these. The fear of embarrassment and risk diminished as I began praying for her healing. I reminded God that she had young children to raise, and there was no reason I could see why she should not be allowed to raise them. My prayer of faith rested on hearing a word from God.
Rhonda’s surgery on Monday was a complete success. More than twenty years have passed since we prayed together in that hospital room. Her daughters are grown and married. She is alive and well.
The truth is, I usually have no idea what God intends when I pray alone or with our elders (we have some now) for the sick. In those cases, I pray a standard prayer based on James 4:2 (“You do not have, because you do not ask God”). I always ask God for a full recovery with no problems or long-term complications. I want no one to miss God’s blessing because we failed to ask: “Father, you told us we could ask, so we did.” Then I pray for submission to God’s will: “Now, since we do not know your will in this case, we submit to what you have in mind. Your will be done.” Finally, I ask God to pour into this person the power of Christ and to strengthen the family for any situation.
I want to add that going to a doctor does not invalidate earnest faith. Occasionally I encounter Christians who are afraid that seeking medical help symbolizes a lack of faith. These people need instruction. Christians are divided about the meaning of the anointing oil in James 5. Some anoint with oil as a sacred symbol of the Holy Spirit. Others believe the oil represented good first-century medical attention. James may have had both meanings in mind. Two extremes are to be avoided: one is to pray with faith and refuse medical attention. The other is to resort to medical help and never pray.
God taught me a hard lesson about this: After suffering with an intestinal disease for almost a decade, I decided during seminary to pray in faith for God’s healing. As a young, idealistic student searching for the boundaries of practical Christianity, I reasoned that taking cortisone and sulfa drugs was a sign of unbelief. I told God I would stop taking my medicine and place my full faith in him for my healing. In less than a month, I was hospitalized, and shortly thereafter the surgeon removed my entire colon. My “faith” was sinful, misguided presumption: “Thou shalt not put the Lord your God to the test.” I encourage people to pray hard and seek the best medical help they can find. Faith plus modern medicine will bring wholeness to many.
What God loves to do
My favorite, most unusual divine healing happened one Sunday evening after church. A medical student approached me in tears. Cancerous lesions had appeared on her cervix, and she was meeting with her doctor in the morning to plan a course of action. Judy stood with her husband and poured out to me her fears of pain, suffering, and possible death. As a medical student, she knew better than most the risks and complications involved. If she did live, she might never have children. She wanted prayer according to James 5.
I invited several spiritual men and women to a corner of our then-deserted church auditorium to pray for her healing. When we finished, both she and her husband, Bill, thanked us and departed. The next morning Bill called.
“You’ll never guess what happened after we got home,” he said. “We were discussing the prayer time, and Judy said, ‘I felt God’s power on me tonight. Wasn’t that exciting when the lighting crew turned that bright spotlight on me when Roger began to pray?’
“I said to her, ‘What spotlight? Nobody turned on any bright light.’
“She said, ‘Oh yes, there was a light. You mean you didn’t see the light?’
” ‘No,’ I replied. ‘I did not see any bright light.’ That’s when we realized the tech crew had gone home much earlier. The bright light had to be from God.”
The lesions were gone. She needed no surgery, no therapy, no treatment. She finished medical school, an internship, and residency; she and Bill now have two healthy children. God loves to heal, and he has much to say through the ministry of healing.
Copyright © 1998 Roger Barrier
