Pastor Weekly - 3/19/25

Hello ICC Family!

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.

James 5:14

This verse is incredibly simple.  Yet we rarely do it!  Unless you are from a Pentecostal or charismatic background, you may have never seen a person be anointed with oil.  I admit that I have never gone to the leadership of any church I have been a part of and requested to be prayed over. That realization is forcing me to ask myself, “Why?”  Here are my answers to that question off of the top of my head.  I wonder if they are similar to yours?

• It’s embarrassing.  I am either admitting that I am weak or needy or both.

• I don’t like to be dependent on others.  In any situation.

• In some churches I have been a part of I didn’t respect the leaders enough to go to them.

• OR those leaders would have considered the request to be a strange one.

• I don’t understand the purpose, seriousness, or benefit of the command.  Why do I need to ask them to pray for me?  I can pray myself!  I should be praying for myself!  If it is something that requires more prayer I can go to my friends and have them pray.  Just a couple of verses later we are commanded to do just that: “Pray for each other so that you may be healed.”  

What is so special about the elders prayer? The answer is both “Nothing” and “Everything” at the same time.  What do I mean by that?

There is nothing special about the elders of the church praying for you when it comes to the efficacy of the prayer.  They don’t have any hidden power to call upon that every single other faithful Christian doesn’t also have.  Their holiness or depth of spirituality doesn’t entitle them to quicker or better results than any other Christian.  The beauty or earnestness of their prayers doesn’t change the mind or will of God in regards to healing more than any other church member.  God will still heal in his perfect timing.

Yet… this Scripture is in the Bible and we must take it seriously.  Elders should be men of highest character and strong faith.  When we go to them in submission to their authority… and they lovingly and earnestly pray in faith on our behalf… it brings glory to God, and everyone’s faith is deepened and strengthened.  I believe this is one small part, one small action that we can take to renew our minds.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Going to the elders and asking for prayer for healing is a step towards changing those natural (selfish and temporary) ways of thinking and transforming our minds and our spirits to focus on the Lord (the ultimate source of our healing) and on others (instead of just our problem itself.)  Witness the change in my own fleshly thinking that I listed above when I am willing to obey this verse…

• I am admitting that I am weak and needy.  My body is hurting and I know that no matter what… I can’t heal or save myself.  I need healing from the Lord!

• I am reminding myself that I am dependent on others, pretty much all of the time.  Whether that is my family, friends, co-workers, or church family.  I welcome all of them to pray for me.

• I acknowledge that as long as I am a member of this church, I need to trust that the leaders of it are a blessing and in authority because of God’s providence.

• I am being assured that the leaders of the church love and trust God’s Word and will carry out this verse.

• I am trusting that even though I might not understand the purpose or seriousness or benefit of this command, I will obey it anyway.  I trust the Lord and believe in the power of prayer and that God’s will is always to heal.  Why would I not want as many people as possible to join me in prayer?  Perhaps their faith and earnestness will encourage and strengthen me!

If any of you are in need of prayer for healing - whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, please come on Sunday at 9:30 AM and let the elders pray with and for you.  We can do this as a group or individually - depending on what you are comfortable with.  But be assured that it will be a blessing for all of us involved!

Blessings to all of you and know that I am praying for you!

Pastor Aaron