GOD ANSWERS TO THE PRAYER OF FAITH

GOD'S ANSWER TO THE PRAYER OF FAITH And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:15-16) In the previous lines, James wrote how the sick should ask for prayer, and how prayer should be offered for all who are needy among God's people. Now, James writes of the result of prayer: "And the prayer of faith with save the sick."
	Many have wondered if James here guaranteed healing for the sick who are prayed for in faith. Some have interpreted the idea behind save the sick as not specifically being healing, and raise him up as being a reference to ultimate resurrection. The reference to sins being forgiven adds to the idea that James here considered a spiritual work and healing, not necessarily a physical healing. Yet the context of the statement demands that James does not exclude physical healing as an answer to prayer, though he does seem to mean something broader than only a physical healing. We should pray for others in faith, expecting that God will heal them, then leave the matter in God's hands.
Clearly, God does not grant immediate healing for every prayer of faith, and the reasons are hidden in the heart and mind of God. Still, many are not healed simply because there is no prayer of faith offered. The best approach in praying for the sick is to pray with humble confidence that they will be healed, unless God clearly and powerfully makes it clear that this is not His will. Having prayed, we simply leave the matter to God. Often we do not pray the prayer of faith out of concern for God's reputation if there should be no healing. We should remember that God is big enough to handle His own reputation. Instead, we should simply receive what James reminds us of: "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." In writing about the need for prayer for the suffering, for the sick, and for the sinning, James points to the effective nature of prayer - when it is fervent and offered by a righteous man. The idea of fervent in this context is strong. Much of our prayer is not effective simply because it is not fervent. It is offered with a lukewarm attitude that virtually asks God to care about something that we care little about. Effective prayer must be fervent, not because we must emotionally persuade a reluctant God, but because we must gain God's heart by being fervent for the things He is fervent for. Additionally, effective prayer is offered by a righteous man. This is someone one who recognizes the grounds of his righteousness reside in Jesus, and whose personal walk is generally consistent with the righteousness that he has in Jesus. That kind of prayer "avails much." The answer it brings will be in the wisdom and plan of man, and not necessarily over every expectation of man, but it will avail. God has promised it so. By David Guzik PRAISE GOD BLESSED BE THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD