Focus: The Prayer of Faith
By Rob Miller, Africa Mercy
Scripture Reference:
“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced crops. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:13–20).
Devotional:
This portion of Scripture is very special to Denise and me. Ten years ago, Denise’s mom was near death in a hospital in Maryland with a recently diagnosed cancer; we lived in Florida. When we heard of her condition, we prayed and asked God to protect our family and to heal Mom. Denise was comfortable that her sisters, both Christians, would be with her mom and praying with her, and we didn’t need to drive to Maryland. I was restless and felt very strongly that we needed to go and pray with her. At the time, I was not familiar with this Scripture. Our pastor directed me to it when I explained my struggle and that I felt I was being nudged by the Holy Spirit to be with mom to pray. I wrestled with feelings of inadequacy and wondering if I needed to be there. I wasn’t ordained as an elder; what was I going to do that other Christians couldn’t do? But I couldn’t ignore the feeling that we should be with Mom. So we went.
When we arrived around midnight, we weren’t mentally prepared for her physical condition. Mom was always a radiant, beautiful woman. Now she looked very fragile and hurting. Denise’s sister and Dad had been at the hospital all day with her. We encouraged them to go home for some rest. We would stay with mom. After they left, we anointed her head with oil and prayed for her. We felt the presence of the Holy Spirit come into the room, and into mom. Up until this time she had been unconscious. She awoke as we anointed her head with oil and said, “I knew you would come. Would you pray for me?” That night Mom prayed and talked with Jesus out loud most of the night and gave her whole self to Him. The next night she asked Jesus out loud to heal her. We had come to pray for her, but instead she was an example of faith and prayer to us. She went home from the hospital after having recovered from kidney failure in about a week’s time. Jesus heard her prayers and answered them; Mom was healed of cancer.
Prayer Points:
· Listen to and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
· Pray with expectation, pray specifically, praise God.
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