“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 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: 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”. – James 5:13-16
LIGHT FOR NOW: All of God’s faith is inside the believer; he now has the responsibility to use that faith.
The prayer of faith means to receive in prayer. That implies that it is not the elders who prayed for the sick that determine if the prayer or request is “a prayer of faith” but the sick who should expect to be healed. He is the one that needs to be healed and hence should receive in prayer – that is the “prayer of faith”. In the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), they did not have faith; hence, the reason Jesus asked the question, “…if you have faith…” in Mark 11:23. Matthew’s account lays credence to this position. Matthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done”.
In other words, they did not have faith. The believer, however, has received faith once. At salvation, we received all the faith we would ever need. Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. Verse 17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God”. 2 Corinthians 4:13 “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak”. We are indwelt by the spirit. We are sons of God. We have received the spirit of faith of the son of God – Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:9). Glory!
INSTRUCTION: You have all of God’s faith; make use of it.
CONFESSION: I choose to pay attention to God’s word. I choose not to be double-minded about the character of God. He gives freely and does not find fault, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
QUOTE: Don’t be double-minded about God.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2; EVENING: ROMANS CHAPTER 10
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 