How to Pray for the Sick

James 5:7-20

In the New Testament, there are three Greek words that are translated “healing”:  iaomai (instantaneous, immediate healing; 30 times), therapeuo (gradual; 40 times), and sozo (become whole, experience salvation; 3 times).

James, the brother of Jesus and the first Christian pastor, writes the Book of James to give practical instructions on how to live the Christian life. In chapter five, James focuses his attention on how to be healthy enough to pray for the sick and then specifically how to pray for those who are chronically ill.

A. God Calls Intercessors to BE PATIENT – v 7

B. God Calls Intercessors to BE POSITIONED – v 8

C. God Calls Intercessors to BE PARDONING – vs 9-11

D. God Calls Intercessors to BE PURE – v 12

E. God Calls Intercessors to BE PRAYERFUL – vs 13-20

• Emotional distress – v 13
  “Afflicted” means a chronic, long drawn out hardship of suffering and refers to the deep emotional depression that accompany the sickness
• Physical distress – vs 14-15
  “Sick” refers to being weary of mind, being exhausted physically and mentally from the sickness
• Financial distress – v 16
  “Faults” means a loss or a making of a false step, a trespass across legal and financial ground
• Psychological distress – vs 17-18
  Ellijah’s prayer was directed against the Ahab’s stronghold that gripped the nation of Israel. Elijah was of the “same passions” as were the other Israelites.
• Spiritual distress – vs 19-20
  “Err” refers to a wondering or a straying from the truth, to be seduced by lies

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” – Luke 22:31-32 (NASB)

Prognosticators are coming out in full force predicting what the new year will bring. They look to the Mayan calendar, Nostradamus, astrology, and other “tea leaves” type of indicators while ignoring the only true indicator of the future – the Scriptures. The Bible has much to say about the future.

In considering the prophecies concerning the last days in Matthew 24:1-14, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, and elsewhere, the Bible clearly presents a tremendous catastrophic turn of events that will impact believers worldwide.

This impact is illustrated in Jesus’ dialogue with Peter when He said that Satan desired to have and sift “you” (Peter). Actually in the Greek, the pronoun “you” is in the plural. Satan had already claimed Judas, now he was after Peter and the other disciples. Prophetically, Jesus was warning His followers that Satan desires to sift each of us! The sifting that Jesus has in mind is the violent overthrowing of one’s faith!

Globally Christians are now experiencing that sifting. Personally, you may be experiencing that sifting as well! This past year may have been the greatest “sifting” of your faith that you have experienced. Yet we know that these last days are going to be those of unprecedented sifting!

Jesus’ dialogue with Peter gives us sound steps of action during these days:

• Warn of adversity: We should love enough to warn others as we see them vulnerable. Even after three years of discipleship, Peter still maintained deep spiritual pride that blinded him to his weaknesses. Jesus, however, could clearly see where Peter’s pride was taking him and He warned (not lectured) him of his peril. (See 1 Thess 5:14; Col 1:28.)
• Pray for victory: Jesus said to Peter that He was praying for him. He did not say that He was praying that he would escape the sifting, but that he would overcome the sifting. Like Jesus, we should be intercessors for others going through the sifting. (See Rom 8:37; Jn 17:15; 1 Cor 1:4-9; Eph 1:16-23.)
• Restore to Ministry: Jesus spoke of Peter being restored to the point of strengthening his brothers. To the disciples’ credit, they did not reject Peter after his sifting. Instead, they restored him to fellowship and to leadership. May we find ourselves restoring those who have been sifted! (See Gal 6:1.)

As we face the new year, and beyond, may each of us do so with the confidence that Jesus anticipated the attacks on our faith; that He is praying for us; and that we must warn, pray, and restore others who will be sifted.

Only two books in our Bible end in a question: Jonah and Nahum. Both of these books belong to the section of Scripture called Minor Prophets. Both of these prophets spoke to the people of Nineveh. And both of their concluding questions challenge us today as we pray for America.

Around 750 BC, Jonah spoke against Nineveh, the capitol city of Assyria. This city represented all that was evil and cruel about the Assyrians. As you might remember, the people of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah. Their repentance was not totally unexpected by Jonah given his understanding that the Lord was gracious, merciful, slow to anger, of great kindness, and ready to forgive (4:2), and yet the prophet had determined them ready for God’s judgment and wrath. The book concludes with God asking the question: Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand…? (4:11 NASB) God was motivated by the large number of innocent children in Nineveh (who could not tell their right hand from their left) to offer His mercy. America is as ripe for God’s judgment today as Ninevah was in 750 BC! How we pray that the Lord will have mercy on our little ones by bringing repentance and His forgiveness!

A mere 20 years following that revival of Nineveh, the city was once again ripe for God’s judgment. In 730 BC Nahum spoke against the city. This time there was no relief from their incurable wickedness. God’s judgment came and Nineveh fell. Nahum concludes his prophecy with the question: For on whom has not your evil passed continually? (3:19, NASB) The prophet is asking the troubling question that needs to be considered today. Who and what people have not been impacted by the evil and wickedness of America?  America, a nation that has witnessed great revivals in the past and has been lavished by God with great preachers, now stands proud and unrepentant. America, a nation once known for her missionary heralding, has become a nation that exports her sins more than her produce! Is it possible that God showed His mercy and forgiveness for our children’s sake twenty years ago and now our grandchildren must partake of His judgment? Should our prayers be focused on preparing both our children and our grandchildren to be preserved a remnant for His glory?

These are days that challenge our prayer lives!

Biblical Philosophy of History

…And His name is called The Word of God…
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written,
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Hebrews 11:4, 5, 7)

The natural man allows his morality to dictate his theology, but the believer’s theology should dictate his morality. Every Christian should be governed by a biblical philosophy of history. This philosophy is a set of values that govern life. A true biblical philosophy of history should include ten foundational beliefs.

1. Creation – an explanation of the dawning of life
Gen 1:1; Neh 9:6; Heb 11:3; Acts 14:15; Rom 1:20

Key Concept: Unique view of God as Triune Creator and Man created in His image

God is a Creator God Who is All-knowing, All-powerful, Ever-present, and Totally good (or the theological terms: Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omni-present, and Omni-righteous); The Godhead consists of a tri-unity (or Trinity) of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Man was created in the image of God and he too is a tri-unity of body, soul, and spirit.

2. Corruption – an explanation of the depravity of sin
Rom 5:12; Rom 3:23; Rom 6:23; Is 53:6

Key Concept: Unique view of Man’s problem being spiritual and moral in nature

Man has rebelled along with God’s enemy, Lucifer (Satan). Through rejection of God’s design for him, Man has been birthed with an Adamic nature (called sin), has willfully broken God’s moral law (called transgression), and has believed Satan’s lies that have shaped his life (called iniquity). The consequences of this rebellion are separation, suffering, and death.

3. Catastrophe – an explanation of the deliverance of a remnant
Gen 6:3-8

Key Concept: Unique view of God allowing a space of time for Man to repent and His justice requiring judgment

Through God’s grace, He provides a faithful remnant to execute His will. God must respond to limit Man’s rebellion and pride. With devastating judgments, God satisfies His just demands while at the same time preserving a faithful remnant. This truth is pictured for us in the worldwide flood story and the preservation of a remnant comprised of Noah and his family.

4. Confusion – an explanation of the diversity of Man
Gen 11:1, 4, 6-8; Acts 17:26

Key Concept: Unique view of the origins of Man’s diversity

Once again, God acted swiftly to bring judgment upon Man’s rebellion and to place a limitation upon his imagination as pictured in the Tower of Babel account. God confounded Man’s languages resulting in a scattering into differing people’s groups and cultures. Over a process of time, various groupings resulted in differing genetic tendencies such as eye shape and skin color.

5. Covenant – an explanation of the division of mankind
Gen 12:1-3; Rom 11:2

Key Concept: Unique view of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendents

God established an eternal agreement with Abraham and his descendents to provide redemption for all mankind through them as they preserve His Word. This covenant was embraced by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then later refined with the Davidic covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant has not been revoked and divides mankind into Jew and Gentile.

6. Christ – an explanation of the demonstration of God
Jn 1:1-4, 11; Col 1:19; Col 2:9

Key Concept: Unique view Christ as the Second Person of the Trinity

Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Trinity Who became incarnated through the miracle of the virgin birth and lived a sinless life.  Through the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus has provided redemption to all who would believe. Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man – fully God and fully Man.

7. Cross – an explanation of the dynamic of grace
Rom 5:6, 8; Rom 5:19; Eph 2:8-9

Key Concept: Unique view of grace, instead of works, as God’s means of salvation

God has provided through the death of Jesus upon the cross the full atonement for Man’s sin. Salvation and forgiveness is through God’s grace without any merit of Man. In response to God’s work of redemption, Man may receive or reject this work of grace. The crucifixion of Christ was followed three days later by His resurrection and the later His ascension to the right had of God the Father.

8. Church – an explanation of the distinction of Christianity
Mtt 16:18; Acts 1:8

Key Concept: Unique view of the Church as God’s steward of truth

The Church was birthed on the day of Pentecost following the crucifixion and resurrection. The Holy Spirit (the Third Person of the Trinity) descended upon the followers of Jesus and initiated the Church. The Church does not replace Israel but provides a third division of Man: Jew, Gentile, and the Church. Jesus is the Head of the Church, not the king of the Church. He has commissioned the Church with the spread of the Gospel and the discipling of believers. To accomplish this goal the Holy Spirit has given the Church apostles (missionaries), prophets (reformers/revivalists), evangelists, and pastor-teachers and has gifted each individual member for service.

9. Coming – an explanation of the declaration of the prophets
Acts 1:11; Heb 9:28; 2 Pet 3:10

Key Concept: Unique view of Christ’s Second Coming toward the end of history

The Bible clearly presents two comings of Jesus. The First Coming occurred when Jesus came as a Suffering Servant and was incarnated as a Man. This is the Christmas story of the virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus. He lived a sinless life and gave his life as a ransom for sin upon Calvary’s cross. Then He arose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is presented in His Second Coming as a Supernatural Sovereign Who will rapture up His Church. An additional part of His Second Coming is His return to defeat the enemies of Israel and to establish a millennial (thousand year) reign.

10. Consummation – an explanation of the destiny of life
Phil 2:10-11; 1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14; Deut 10:17; Josh 22:22; Rev 19:16

Key Concept: Unique view that all of life is progressing toward Judgment

All history is moving toward a culmination in one of two directions: Heaven or Hell. God’s justice demands an accounting. With the judgment of sin completed at Calvary, history now awaits four future judgments:

• The judgment concerning the saints (Judgment Seat of Christ). This judgment concerns the works of the believers (1 Cor 3:11-15; 4:5; 5:9-10; 9:24-27; Rom 14:9-12).
• The judgment concerning the states/nations (in the Valley of Jehoshaphat). This judgment concerns the nation’s treatment of Israel (Matt 25:31-46; Rev 12:13-17; Dan 7:22; Jude 14-15).
• The judgment concerning sinners (Great White Throne Judgment). This judgment will be concerned with sinners who have rejected Jesus (Rev 20:11-15; Jude 6; 2 Pet 3:7).
• The judgment concerning Israel’s submission (at the time of the Great Tribulation). This judgment will focus upon Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their true Messiah and a faithful remnant that have trusted in Jesus as their Messiah (Jer 30:4-7; Ezk 20:34-38; Dan 12:1).

Recapturing the Biblical Epic of Prayer

This sweeping historical book traces prayer throughout the lives of the patriarchs, the judges, the kings, the prophets, Christ, and the apostles. We are excited to make this available in a newly revised form. Click on the link above to order.

Today’s Manifestation of Laodicea

Part Two: The Reception of Laodicea

Jesus’ words to the Laodicean Church found in Revelation 3:15,16 are straightforward and clearly reveal His dissatisfaction with its members and their labor: I know thy works that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. The surrounding area near the historic city of Laodicea was known for its therapeutic natural hot springs and cold springs, but the city of Laodicea had neither to offer. Its natural flowing water was tepid and polluted with sulfur. It was nauseating to anyone who attempted to drink it. Jesus chose this city to reveal a profound characteristic of the Church during its last days on earth.

In this passage, the Greek word interpreted as “cold” denotes a reduction of temperature by evaporation. Jesus is describing those who have become apathetic because they have lost the passion they once had. The Greek word interpreted as “hot” indicates a movement toward boiling. Our word “zest” is a derivative of that Greek word. Jesus is describing those who have a zeal for Him and His truth. The Greek word interpreted “lukewarm” denotes a reflection of the environmental temperature. When Jesus calls the Laodicean Church lukewarm, He is not saying the church is apathetic, as is often taught. He communicated that concept by using the word “cold”. When He uses the word “lukewarm” He is saying that the church reflects the climate of the world around it. Hence, the Laodicean Church is the culture-sensitive church. It is the church that so embraces the lies of the culture that it has no distinction from its environment. By its environmental standards, it has need of nothing! Yet it nauseates the Lord. According to Jesus’ words, He would prefer the cold, dead life-style and worship of a church which has lost the passion it once had to the life-style and worship of the culture-sensitive church! Those are certainly not pleasant words to the church that has need of nothing!

Paul warned the believers in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to the world. In his notes on this verse, Kenneth Wuest says that the word “conformed” means masquerading an outward appearance that does not come from within nor is representative of what is within. He contends that “the modernism of your appearance nullifies the fundamentalism of your doctrine.” In other words, when a church takes on the appearance of the culture in which it resides, it nullifies the truths it claims. When a church employs the structure of the world’s educational system, the methods of the world’s businesses, and the entertainment of the world’s stars, the church is actually denying the truths it preaches concerning holiness and separation. The Greek word Paul used that is interpreted “world” means age or time. Paul is saying that we should neither adjust ourselves, our church structure and methods, nor our worship to the age or time in which we live.

In our youth, we were constantly being challenged not to be conformed to the world. At our camp meetings, we were challenged to burn any items that we possessed that connected us with the world’s value system. The separation in our lives guaranteed that the members of our youth group were not also the popular “in” group at school. But when we went to seminary and encountered people from outside the “Bible-Belt”, we met plenty of seminary students who dressed in and possessed many of those items we were challenged to burn. Our eyes were opened to the opportunity to be believers and to be popular in secular settings at the same time. We did not know then what we realize now: We were being invited to change our church membership from the church at Philadelphia to the church at Laodicea. The success and acceptance was tempting, but the leanness to our souls that such a change would bring served as a barrier. Sadly, when we returned to our “Bible-Belt” home, progressiveness had reached our own church. The phrase “being worldly” is a foreign concept now in almost all of our churches. Pastors enjoy their own worldliness and community prestige far too much to speak against it.

Contemporary (meaning “with the times”) and progressive are popular words in the Laodicean Church. Both words are synonymous with being conformed to the world. From the days of Adam’s children the earth has been inhabited by two kingdoms: the progressive kingdom of the world and the stable kingdom of God. In Genesis 4:16-24 Cain left the presence of God and built a city named after his son. His kingdom abounded and became a highly developed culture with advancing tools, entertainment, and sin. On the other hand, Adam’s children through his son Seth chose to call upon the name of the Lord. They did not seek an advanced culture, but were humble men who met the needs of their families through what God had created (Genesis 4:25-5:32). The advancing culture of Cain’s descendants so polluted the world that it became necessary for God to destroy them through the flood of Noah’s time. After the flood, a new kingdom of this world was developed. Nimrod, a man who became mighty in the earth and was an aggressive hunter against the Lord, was its leader (Genesis 10:8,9). His advancing culture became so evil that God found it necessary to destroy communication between the people to prevent the evil culture from permeating the whole earth (Genesis 11:1-9). God then established a covenant with Abraham for his descendants to be God’s kingdom on earth. God made them a special people and put them in a special place for His special purpose. He desired for all the nations of the world who would pass through the crossroads of Israel to see the life-style of His people and to embrace Him as their God. Sadly, instead of Israel impacting all who traveled through their land, they became enamored with the life-style and possessions of the progressive kingdom of the world. Their life-style became so polluted by the kingdom of the world that God set them aside and chose the Church to be His kingdom on the earth. Jesus prayed that His Church would not be of the world, even though they were left in the world (John 17). Yet his assessment of the Laodicean Church was that it had also become polluted by the progressive culture of the kingdom of the world. The sad thing is those within the church do not even know it. Yet on the positive side, the Lord still has His remnant: those who will hear His voice, open the door, and sup with Him. That is “praying in Laodicea.”

Perfect Your Praying In Laodicea

God’s Word Says:

Note: We have been chosen by the Lord to stand at a most unusual time in the history of the Church. In our midst we have a very few elderly believers who have been impacted by the God-pleasing Philadelphian Church Age and those who have been impacted by Philadelphian literature. However, we also have in our midst the ever-increasing, God-nauseating, worldly Laodicean Church. Just as their descriptions would imply, these church members are at odds with one another. The elderly are labeled as those who resist change. We have even been in a conference where the pastors were told to leave the elderly in their dead churches and let them die off! It is not unusual to hear that styles and methods do not matter, that the most important thing is to reach this new generation that thinks and learns differently. Oh, that God would increase those who will stand in the ways, and see.

Tell God:
The ways in which you have sought to be contemporary and progressive.
The ways in which you have shown disrespect for the elderly in your life.
Ask God:
To give you the discernment to see the difference between the Philadelphian and Laodicean Churches.
To show you what you can do to encourage your church to be Philadelphian.
To give you freedom from your drive to be conformed to the world.
To show you specific steps to take to walk in the old paths.
To guide you to an elderly person who can impact your life through conversations about living in the Philadelphian Church Age.