The Prayer of Petition, the Prayer to Change things
"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” - Matt. 21:22
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. - Mark. 11:24
The “prayer of faith,” mentioned in James 5, is a method of prayers where believers pray over someone who is sick and needs healing (the focus of this article)—and, also, to pray in all circumstances.
In some cases—through the body of believers praying for healing—God will allow for the sick person to be healed. One must note that this doesn’t always guarantee the sick person will be healed, otherwise, as mentioned in this article, no believer would ever die.
This prayer of faith, however, encourages believers to exercise trust in God. Healing may come in physical healing, or it may result in a peace felt by the believers and the sick person.
We pray this prayer to lean on God in his wisdom and understanding and know that all healing comes from him, should he choose to heal the sick person in our lives.
This specific prayer is mentioned in James 5:13-20. The passage walks believers through the methodology of this specific prayer. Believers will:
The passage says this will raise up the sick person. Now, raise up doesn’t always indicate an instant healing. As stated in the Barnes’ Commentary on James 5:15, this promise does come with the restriction that the healing has to come from God’s will.
We see instances of this prayer of faith in Scripture in passages such as Mark 6:13, where the disciples cast out many demons and anoint sick people with oil, healing them.
As mentioned before, healing in the physical sense isn’t always guaranteed through this prayer of faith. We have to consider God’s will and timing.
Also, sometimes healing doesn’t mean healing in a physical sense, but a spiritual sense. When Jesus heals a paralytic, he first tells the man that his sins are forgiven (Mark 2:1-12). Although Jesus does heal him later in a physical sense, he draws attention to the fact that spiritual needs have to be met prior to physical ones. Although we may have physical ailments in this life, spiritual wounds require the healing of a Savior.
However, if God wills the healing, a prayer of faith can be a means by which God works to orchestrate that healing.