The Prayer of Faith By Elders

Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. - James 5:14-15

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. - James 5:16

This is probably one of the most misused passages in the New Testament. Many use verse 16 for different applications:

1) Confess your secret sins to another person. Else you will never walk free from sin. You will never be fully restored.

But John 8:32 says, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." 

John 8:36 - "If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed."

Romans 6:7 - for he who has died is free from sin.

Apparently, if you follow the confession application, you need people to set you free. Jesus can't. The Cross is not enough. His death is not enough.

2) Confess your sins so that you can receive emotional and mental wholeness.

The verses in 1) above apply. Furthermore, you can't find an incident where Jesus demanded that.

3) Confess your sins so that you can receive physical healing. If you don't confess, you can't be healed.

You cannot find a Scripture reference where Jesus told someone to first confess his sins in order to be healed. Every single person He healed was in sin. None of them was saved yet! In fact, for Jesus, healing someone is the same as forgiving their sins (Luke 5:23-24), because He knew that He would pay for all their sins and healings on the Cross (Rom 3:25-26). The main issue now is no longer about sins. It's about believing in Him and returning as His son.

The preceding verse is self-explanatory. You can't read James 5:14-15 and still think that verse 16 is talking about confession of sins in order to be healed. It's pretty obvious.

If anyone is sick, call the elders. James was addressing to a church context. The prayer of faith will heal the sick. This word 'prayer' in Greek is unique. It is the only word ever used in the whole of New Testament regarding prayer. Jesus didn't ask us to pray for the sick. He told us to heal the sick. The 'prayer' of faith is such a declaration. You declare from heaven to earth for the sick to be healed. Because it's paid by the stripes of Jesus.

The prayer of faith shall heal the sick. If the sick is not healed, then it's not the prayer of faith, it's the prayer of unbelief. It's that simple. But we like to make Scriptures complicated, so that we can address our own insecurity and disappointment.

The elders in church are supposed to be the ones having the prayer of faith. But nowadays, we appoint elders based on their secular experiences and years of being in the church.

Notice, the sick are not the ones to be burdened with the responsibility of walking in healing. The burden rests on the shoulders of the elders in the church. They need to keep growing in seeing what Christ sees. That's the responsibility of elders.

Disclaimer: Every believer has the same responsibility/privilege to keep growing. But the elders in church have a greater responsibility to do so because they watch over their flocks.

Coming back to James 5:16. The word "trespasses/sins" used here is not the usual 'hamartia' (in Greek). It is 'paraptoma', which can be translated as fault or offense.

Could it be referring to Matthew 18:15?

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother."

Because when you confess your offenses against each other with each other, you will pray for each other and you will be healed relationally. You gain a brother. You gain a restored relationship.