STEP FIVE
Admitted to God to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]James 5:15-16 (N.I.V.)
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. [/FONT]
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.[/FONT]
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The assurance is given that prayer will make the sick person well. In the final analysis this is what will affect the healing. In answer to the prayer offered in faith God provides the medicine to cure the malady! The statement the Lord will raise him up means that the sick man will be enabled to get up from his sickbed. If it was sin that occasioned his sickness he will be forgiven. This might suggest the possibility that because of the persistence of sin God sends sickness as a disciplinary act. However the conditional, ‘if he has sinned,’ makes it clear that
not all sickness is the result of sin.
Since confession of sin and the prayer of faith bring healing Christians should confess their sin to each other and pray for each other. If sin has caused sickness healing will follow! This is a promise from God that we should be willing to put our hope and trust into as this hope and trust will soon become increasing faith!