James 5:15 KJV
[15] “and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
James is not giving us a blanket formula for healing the sick. Many believers have fallen sick with a terminal illness and passed away. It was the Father’s will for them to leave us, and no prayer was going to heal their body. Prayer is not to accomplish our will but to accomplish the Father’s will.
The key phrase in verse fifteen is “if he have committed sins”. It would explain why he is calling for the elders of the church. The leaders were in charge of the discipline in the church. Since the individual is too sick to go to church, he calls for the elders to come and pray for him. We read about this kind of sickness in 1 Corinthians 11:30, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep.” The next verse in our devotional study will also shed light on this truth. James instructed the early church to confess their faults one to another and pray one for another for healing. It is clear why the individuals were sick, why they were calling for elders, why they were confessing sins, and why they were exercising faith in their prayers.
The principle for us to learn is that sin can bring sickness as a form of judgment. Faith, prayer, and confession can bring healing if we are willing to be open and honest about our sin. I do not want to dismiss the fact that when someone is sick, we should pray for them. All prayers are to be prayed by faith, or the prayers are dead. If you know one who is sick and in need of prayer, pray believing God will heal them. This kind of praying still works today! No matter what report the doctor gives us, we must remember that we are in the hands of the Great Physician!