“Confession, Prayer and Healing”

Meditation on James 5

Sept. 8, 2013

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    Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

      

    Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

       

    Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

      

     Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

     

     My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5)

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     There comes a time when a pastor, while preparing a Sunday message for her flock, needs to close all the scholarly commentaries, place them back on the shelf for another day.

     And set aside her great plans for a fifth and final installment of a sermon series on James and simply rely on the Spirit to lead her to bring a message of hope.

     Brothers and sisters, this is the time. 

     As I was packing to leave town with Jim on Monday, I received a call from the sheriff.  I was needed to help a family in crisis.

     Our community is hurting and broken now because of what happened on Monday in Granite Falls. One person abruptly lost her life.  Another was seriously wounded.  And all of us will never be the same. The pain and loss of one family in our church are shared by the entire community of faith.

      My heart is as heavy as yours. I, too, have felt anxious at the possibility of more sorrow to come.  People are struggling, wondering how this could have happened in our community. Some may ask, “Why did God allow this to happen? Why didn’t he do something to stop it?”  As your pastor, I should know all the answers. But I don’t.

      The most common question I have been asked is, “What can we do now?” People from the community—some who attend other churches—have contacted me asking if we could please do something together as a community of faith to show our love and support for Jeff and Jane.

        They are asking, could we at least gather and pray?

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        In our epistle reading today, we hear instruction on prayer and one of the promises of God.  James asks, “Are any among you suffering?  They should pray! ...  Are any among you sick?  They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.”

         Then comes the promise. “The prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise them up; anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.  The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”

        My answer to all who ask if we should gather and pray is yes, we need to pray for one another. Right where we are, with the believers who are beside us. But we need to pray the deep, humbling prayer of faith that begins with a heart cleansed by the confession of our sins.  Do you see that there is a connection between confession, prayer, and healing? The prayer of the righteous that is powerful and effective is one that leads us to trust in what the Lord has done for us so that we are humbled and brought to confess our sins and acknowledge our need for the only One who can save us, the only One who offers us the gift of eternal life through belief on Him!

       Yes, let us pray for healing and hope but also for the salvation of those in our community who are lost, drifting through life in despair, and don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Because this is a spiritual battle, friends!  Our enemies are not human.  They are the powers and principalities of darkness.  But Christ has already defeated these powers; we have no reason to fear.

        Let us seek the Lord for more faith in the One who has made the way for our reconciliation not just with God but with other people.  God can heal what is broken between people in this community – and in every community.  But let the prayer of the righteous begin with confession.

        Let us pray as James teaches for a faith that endures trials of all kinds so the Lord may shape us into the loving, humble people of God he wants us to be. And one day, when we see Christ face to face, and he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we will recall all the trials and suffering of our lives—and we will finally be able to consider them all joy.

       But now, while we feel pain and deep sadness and perhaps are worrying about what is to come, let us pray for more faith and that the Lord will use this terrible thing to work a miracle in our community, to bring about His good plan for the healing and salvation of the world, one person at a time, one family, one community at a time.

       We pray though we don’t always know the words to say.  People have asked me this week, tell me how to pray. And I say pray any way you can.  Your prayers will be heard and what’s more, God will hear your heart.  He will minister to your broken heart and restore you to wholeness.

        Pastor Dan Bowman shared with me that he was asked to come and pray with the staff at the nursing home this week, as they wait and worry for their friend Jane, unable to return to her home, work, and normal life until the police are sure that her family is not in danger. They asked Dan what they should do when they see Jane?  How do they show their love and support without making her feel worse?

        Dan told the story of the “three ministers” in Job—the three friends who sat silently with him for 3 days and 3 nights when Job was going through such terrible trials.  And then, when they broke their silence and began giving Job advice—that is when they were no longer ministering to him.

        Sometimes simply being the peaceful presence of Christ –and saying nothing at all—is the most loving thing to do.

        Dan led the staff in the ABC prayer. He explained that it is a profound prayer that you pray when you don’t know what to say.  You pray each of the letters of the alphabet—from A to Z. And then, “Amen.” You give God the letters and let him put them all together in His perfect prayer.

       So brothers and sisters, let us open our hearts and minds and let the Spirit lead us to pray, even if we don’t know the words to say.

       Trust in the Spirit that dwells within you.  Don’t lean on your own understanding of the situation or what you think will happen in the future. Acknowledge the Lord is your God, and He will direct your paths. Keep your focus on following Christ and being an instrument of His peace.

        Trust in the wisdom of God, who knows all and can see ahead to the future with eyes of eternity.  The Lord sees us not as we are in the flesh but through the body and blood of His Son, broken and spilled out for our sins.  He sees us after His Spirit has completed a good work in all of us as He promises to do.

        Trust in the grace, mercy, and love of God, shown to us in His sacrifice for our sakes.

        Trust in the Lord so that you freely confess your sins to one another. Then pray for one another, so you may be healed.

        

Please join me in prayer.

Holy, merciful God, we ask for forgiveness for our many sins—for our doubts and fears during times of trial and deep sorrow. Lead us to trust in you. In your wisdom, power, mercy, and grace. Humble us so that we are moved to freely confess our sins to one another and pray for one another the prayers of the righteous that are powerful and effective. Forgive us if we have spoken too many of our own words and have not allowed your Spirit to speak through us. Give us courage and patience to say nothing when that is the most loving thing to do.  Help us to be the comforting presence of Christ for our brothers and sisters in need.  We pray for healing and wholeness for all who have been deeply affected by the tragedy in our community.  We ask that Your will be done through us and that you will use us as instruments of peace for our families, communities, and world.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.