Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
James 5:16
Have you ever said, “well, all we can do is pray”? This phrase typically comes after all options have been exhausted and/or a realization of helplessness occurs. The problem with this statement is that it reflects the heart of the individual toward prayer: when we have tried everything that works best, we give praying a try. Said another way, when we say “all we can do is pray,” we are admitting that we believe that everything else stands a better chance than prayer of bringing change to our situation.
James (and more importantly God) would disagree.
Following the revelation that James gives us that the prayers of faith of the elders of the Church brings healing, we see that this invitation to pray effectively and productively is opened to all who are righteous.* Since the righteous are those whom Christ has made righteous, the righteous are all those who believe in Jesus and have invited Him into their life as Lord.*
As already established by Jesus and James, not all sickness is a result of sin, but sometimes it is.* Whatever the case in any particular situation, God desires that confession to one another for healing (spiritually, emotionally, and physically) occur on the regular.* In the case of sin-caused illness, physical healing will come.*
James opens the opportunity to pray prayers that change lives (such as healing) to the entire body of Christ, thus demonstrating God’s heart for the body of Christ: to be engaged in community together that shares burdens and prays for one another.*
What a gift! Perhaps today we should change our perspective of prayer from a powerless last resort to the reality of its place in the Kingdom: a life-altering conduit to the power and transformation of healing by Jesus.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to pray for someone to be healed. Perhaps today God would have you confess about something that you did or are doing to someone who loves Jesus. Maybe today God would have you confess to someone you have wronged. Perhaps today God wants you to realign your priorities to His Kingdom priorities. Maybe today God wants you to reengage in Christian community.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, p. 245). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 271–272). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 5:15–18). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 312–314). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (p. 307). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, pp. 210–212). Word, Incorporated.