“13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”
Question: What is meant by “the prayer of faith”

A closer look

This is the first time I have looked seriously at this text, as verses 13, 14, and 16 can sound glib and uncaring, as if they are dismissing the problem of pain and suffering. It sounds a bit like, “Go away and pray harder”.
And the phrase, “if he has committed sins” seems shallow compared to the understanding we receive from Romans, that “all have sinned”. So, I have previously just skimmed through this section, but it was well worth a closer look.

Physical suffering

We know it may not be in the Lord’s plan to give physical relief from suffering: Paul did not receive relief from the thorn in his side; and in the 2,000 years since Jesus’ time on earth, famine and plague have been common for most of that time. And unless the end times come soon, I expect that pain and suffering will accompany the eventual end of my earthly life.
But verse 15 does not promise physical healing, rather it says that prayer “will save”, and “the Lord will raise him up”, and “he will be forgiven”.

Power of Prayer

What I receive from this reading is a reminder of the overwhelming importance and power of prayer. Not prayer as a shopping list, or a list of complaints, or telling God what’s important and how things should be. But prayer as time spent with God, of knowing his presence and allowing him to silently speak to us, and refocus our thoughts and our being to be more in line with him.
If our gospel witness is given as a confident and apparently successful church attender, it can seem quite remote to people who are doing life tough, or who endure chronic pain, or carry a burden of sin and shame. But if we are seen to share that pain and that burden, but we have been uplifted by God who has carried us past those obstacles, and if we can share the encouraging words his Holy Spirit gives, our witness can bring the powerful blessings of God.

Spiritual health

Another aspect of the power of prayer is shown by the proven connection between health problems and poor spiritual outlook. The lack of a sense of purpose doesn’t only cause a poor mental outlook that leads to risky physical behaviours, poor nutrition, or even suicide; that lack of purpose can directly affect energy in the body cells by reducing hormone levels. And a poor mental outlook will also reduce our ability to handle stress, and uncontrolled stress has also been documented as a major contributor to health problems. But these proven benefits are not the reason for prayer, that would just be a continued focus on self. The real prayer of faith comes from a change of heart.

Humility and repentance

These verses are sound practical advice, all centred around effective and fervent prayer. That prayer is simply coming before God in full humility and repentance, and allowing him to draw us closer to him, to see things more how he sees them, to know his will, and to equip us to do all he wants.
Sometimes, prayer may have physically miraculous outcomes. But more often the outcome is miraculous in how it changes who we are, in what we are given to share with others, and in how God uses us to bring his blessing to others.

Praise God!