Volume. XL, No. 29
Sunday, 18 January 2026
Biblical Guidance for the Afflicted
James addresses many practical issues in the Christian life. In the fifth chapter, in verses 16–20, he deals with this subject of sickness and the believer’s response to it. In James 5:13, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.” Suffering is a general word to mental, physical or even emotional afflictions. We are to pray and seek the Lord for grace and strength and relief from such afflictions and wait patiently upon the Lord. Then James went on to speak of sickness in the same way in verse 14, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:”
What are we to do when we are sick? We are to call for the elders of the church. We are not to seek out faith healers but to summon or call alongside the elders or leaders of the local church and they are to do two things:
1. Pray with and over him committing the person to the will of the Lord.
2. Anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. (ie has a therapeutic value).
The spiritual overseers of the church are to intercede and beseech the Lord together for the spiritual and physical well-being of the believers. It is proper and biblical that we share with the church our prayer requests including our sicknesses. The church leaders must be responsible to pray earnestly for the recovery of its members, while at the same time submitting to the will and timing of the Lord. There is a call to examine ourselves and to seek God in confession of sins if necessary as we seek His mercy and pardoning grace.
The Proper Place of Medical Science
Secondly, they are to anoint the member with oil. What does that mean? For the first century, olive oil was used in a medicinal sense. The ancients believed that it had a healing effect in people. Remember the Samaritan applied oil on the wound of the injured person (Luke 10:34). The Apostles also anointed people with oil (Mark 6:13). The word used here for “anoint” is a special word. It is normally used in extra-biblical Greek literature to speak of anointing or oiling with oil for medicinal purposes.
This is consistent with the teaching that prayer should not negate proper medical care that God has given to us. While we pray, we are also to seek medical assistance, and both are not inconsistent (some have added that the action here is also symbolic of health and vitality). So we have a principle to apply: To seek the Lord fervently in prayer and to do our part in consulting a medical doctor as well. God can heal today in a miraculous and supernatural way as He wills and also by using the normal course of medical care, established medically proven treatment, and a proper recovery process.
Notice that in verses 15-16,
“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. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
If there is sin in the life of the person concerned, we should seek the Lord in confession and repentance. Sin has its consequences and sickness is one of them, although we have to be careful not to equate every sickness with sin (eg, Job’s sickness was not due to his sins although he was not sinless).
Before David repented of his sins, he shared in Psalm 32:1–4 of physical and mental afflictions, which stopped after he confessed and repented. Paul spoke to some of the Corinthian brethren who were sick because they partook of the Lord’s Supper unworthily (1 Cor 11:30). We are all to learn to pray fervently like Elijah, supported by a life of holiness and godly purity in obedience and submission to the will and timing of God (James 5:17). It is not wrong to ask others to intercede for us as well in church corporate intercession and we are to pray for ourselves and others too.
Conclusion
We need to be vigilant and prudent in these last days of deception even if we are afflicted or our loved ones too. Many young unsuspecting believers can be swept away by the showmanship and psychological pressure of faith healers, spiritual quacks and charlatans. We need instead to place our faith and confidence in a prayer-answering Sovereign and Almighty God, submitting to His holy and perfect will for us and waiting upon him patiently in fervent effectual intercession and the reading of His word always.
More Lively Hope
