Prayer & Confession

James 5:14–17 NLT

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!

We need to first remember the supremacy of God

James 3. Effective Prayer (5:13–18)

C. Hodge wrote,

It cannot be supposed that God has subjected Himself in the government of the world, or in the dispensation of his gifts, to the shortsighted wisdom of men, by promising, without condition, to do whatever they ask. No rational man could wish this to be the case.

James: An Introduction and Commentary Additional Note on Healing (5:14–16)

If passive, we should translate ‘prayer is very powerful when it is energized (by God or the Spirit)