I know I have written about this subject in my journals but I don’t know where at the moment, but it is fresh on my heart right now, so am going to write about it.
A startling thought dawned on me a few years ago. All my years in the Work, claiming to be a servant of God, never once did I pray WITH the friends about a present need. I prayed privately for them and those needs, but never with them. It wasn’t done. What was I thinking? Obviously, I simply wasn’t thinking at all.
How much more effective and powerful a situation could have been, if I had? Picture an evening with the friends and my co-worker and I have had one of those rare meaningful and personal visits. Maybe someone opened up about a situation in their family or their marriage or their meeting that they were distressed about or didn’t know how to handle. Maybe someone was really hurting emotionally or spiritually. (One and the same, actually) Maybe someone expressed some very real fears or worries. We would talk about it, often at great length. Then, we would end the visit and leave the home or restaurant and that was it. We might have said, “We’ll pray about it and get back to you.” That was good but what if we had prayed WITH them in the moment? THAT should have been second nature to me. Instead, it never crossed my mind because it just wasn’t done.
Help us all! The reason I am so adamant about this now is that I have been on the receiving end of those kind of prayers in the last 13 years on many an occasion and it is powerful, moving, and effective. It is NOT done for show as I was always told it would be. It is heartfelt and sincere.
What did I/we do with verses like James 5:13-16?
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
The fellowship doesn’t take those verses literally. If we had, we would have been considered being “religious”. The early workers made a big deal of not doing anything that appeared to be religious. Perhaps they had good reason for doing so. But this left out many scriptural things to do; like these verses in James. Instead of shunning all those things entirely, why not instead purpose to do them right? With a pure motive, in love and in faith. Not caring what others thought or how uncomfortable you felt in the moment.
Another appalling thing, I never did was pray for the sick. I visited a lot of hospitals but did not pray with the patient! Unbelievable! What a comfort it could have been to the sick.
I also never ever remember the elders of the church praying over them and anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. I just see some precious opportunities missed. Ways that our faith could have been more real; more active and more present.
Darla DenHerder ~ Opening My Heart 
Darla, I am so glad to read your bog addressing this issue and your conclusions. I am not in the fellowship but my parents are. When my mother was very ill in the hospital the friends were very attentive to her, my dad and to my sister and I but NO ONE prayed with her or us. When I asked Mom if I could pray with her she grabbed my hand and said, yes please! It was a blessing to pray with her and sense the Lord calming her. The fellowship didn’t pray for her at their next Sunday morning meeting or even mention that one of their own was very ill. I knew my church family back home was praying for my Mom that very Sunday morning! I asked my dad about it and he said ‘That’s just not how we do things’.
My mom is now healthy again and is a prayer warrior! She tells everyone she will pray for them and tells them how her prayers have been answered. Maybe God is using her to bring some change from the inside ☺
Thank you for your wonderful blogs, they are so helpful! God is using you in a mighty way!
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Lori, what a wonderful story! It’s so odd and very sad that the meeting people do not pray for their own openly. But good for your mom now….telling them a new story!!
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This exact passage in James has lead me on a soul searching journey on the subject of healing and the power of our prayers. I ask the same question, why is this never done? Why does the church based on the new testament order, ignore something so plainly put? Not only ignore, but in fact teach the exact opposite. I struggle mightily with this whole notion because of the indoctrination that has been placed into my mind. Even now, a part of me scoffs whenever I hear how a group of believers prayed over the sick. I know that I have never witnessed a miracle because of my unbelief and yet I still struggle to believe. This verse alone should serve to show what a lie this fellowship is based on. Claiming to be commissioned and sent out in the same manner as Jesus sent the original 12 Apostles, yet denying the very power that Jesus said that he gave them. Maybe I will never see a faith healing, but that does not give me or anyone else the right to develop our own doctrine to explain why this verse no longer applies. We are called to pray and believe. I hope that I will never again hold to a belief that prevents the work that the Holy Spirit can do in my life. Thank you, Darla for you many words of wisdom that are refreshing to my heart. I have much enjoyed reading these posts even as far back as this one.
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Obviously you and I have asked the same questions and come to very similar conclusions. It’s encouraging, isn’t it?
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Darla, I mentioned this very thing to my Elder about 10 years ago. He got VERY upset and told me that if I was more “faithful” I would understand these things! I now understand just as you do!
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