Is any sick among you?

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." - James 5:14-15

The idea that gifts of healing ended with the last apostle is clearly not biblical. It is the role of the church and specifically the "elders" to pray for that healing in faith.

If the church is not doing that, it is not fulfilling one of its intended purposes.

If we are not calling the elders for prayer in our sickness, we are not fulfilling our responsibility, either.

Not everyone has been healed but many have. Our oldest son is quite possibly alive today because we called elders for prayer when he was a year old in the hospital with staff infection. A man named Frank Romanelli came on Christmas Eve and anointed our listless son with oil in name of Jesus. That night our son began to improve and was sent home the next day, well.

Also note the word, "if". Christian health is a complex issue, not always because of sin. I don't believe we are capable of understanding the why and how but we can obey and trust God's goodness.

- fritz