Every Sunday we welcome those who are sick and wish to be anointed with oil and ask God to heal them. “Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:14, NLT) It’s clear instruction for the sick and for the elders of the church. The confidence in the prayer is not the oil; it’s in the Lord. God is a healing God; Jesus revealed this as he preached the kingdom of God and healed the sick.

Always expect an answer to your prayer in faith. Always trust God’s promises. More importantly always trust His will. It is God that is the source of our faith. Faith is dependent upon God and not ourselves. We can feed our faith by walking daily with Him in prayerful fellowship. But faith is not a worked up emotion. It is why, like our Savior taught us and He prayed himself, “Your will be done.”

When faced with health challenges and feel overwhelmed we remember what God has done for us in Christ. In John’s Gospel he calls Jesus the Unique One. “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is heart to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18, NLT) When Jesus met sick people he healed them. We know the compassion of God because of Jesus Christ.

God created our bodies with amazing abilities to protect us from diseases and to heal when we are sick. He has granted to doctors and scientists the intellect to study diseases and discover medications and cures. When I pray for people it doesn’t matter to me if God uses medicine or does a miracle. Every good gift comes from our Father up above. He deserves our thanks always.

I encourage you to look to Him in prayer, follow your doctor’s advice, and practice good health principles. However, never give up hope. Christ is our Hope.

Peace