Elders and Healing

There is a verse in James that says that if anyone is sick that they should have the elders of the church pray for them:

James 5:14
“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.”

Many churches don’t even have the elders pray for the sick but the ones that do often do so without understanding. They simply shuffle out the elders on to stage every time someone is desperate enough to ask for their prayers. But they do so out of obedience and simply because the Bible tells them that is what they should do. Obedience is good but understanding is good too.

Often it is perceived that the elders have the ability to heal (and that is a big if to a lot of people) simply because they are elders. However, if we read a bit further in James, we find the true catalyst for healing:

James 5:15
“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.”

Faith is the key here. And this is where people get confused. Elders are supposed to be chosen because they are full of faith. They do not have faith because they are elders.

Stephen in the book of Acts was chosen because of the same criteria:

Acts 6:5
“This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.”