James 5:15 “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.”
In this section we want to discuss the spiritual sacrifice called the prayer of faith and its effectiveness. In the previous section we mentioned some examples of the different types of prayer that the new covenant priests are required to offer. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle James mentions another type of prayer, i.e. the prayer of faith. I want to highlight from this passage the absolute certainty of the outcome of this type of prayer, for in this passage James tells us categorically that the prayer of faith will (not might) heal the sick (the word translated “save” in this passage is more correctly translated “heal”). James goes on in this passage to tell us that even if sin in the life of the believer is the cause of their sickness, God would nevertheless forgive their sin when the prayer of faith is offered.
Matthew 21:22 “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus also taught us about the prayer of faith. The point that I want to highlight from this passage is the fact that Jesus is emphatic about the result of this prayer, for according to the Lord Jesus, this prayer always receives that which is prayed for. For Jesus did not say that we “might” receive the things we ask for, but rather He said that we “will” receive the things we ask for. And so we see from these passages of scripture that the prayer of faith, when applied correctly, will always produce the desired outcome. And so in this series we want to examine this particular type of prayer i.e. the prayer of faith. More specifically, we want to look at, when it is appropriate to use this type of prayer and the rules that govern this type of prayer, so that our prayer of faith will be offered before God in the correct manner and thus be effectual.
Michael E.B. Maher
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