The Prayer of Faith and Healing In James 5 - Timothy Ministries

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The Prayer of Faith © 2001 Roderick A. Graciano 2. Passages on Anointing with Oil, Listed by Term jAleivfw Gen. 31.13: anointing a pillar Exodus 40.13: anointing Aaron to serve as priest! Morrish; Zondervan reads crivsei". Num. 3.3: Aaron’s anointed sons. Ruth 3.3: Ruth washing. 2 Sam. 12.20: David washing. 2 Chron. 28.15: Medicinal balm. Ezekiel 13.10-15: plastering a wall. Dan. 10.3: cosmetic as in various passages. Mat. 6.17 Mark 6.13; 16.1 Luke 7.38, 46 John 11.2; 12.3 James 5.14 Crivsma 1 John 2.20, 27 Crivw Exodus 29.2; Num. 6.15: cooking? Exodus 29.7,29: anointing the priest. Exodus 29.36: sanctifying the altar. Leviticus: consistently of anointed priests. Num. 7: consecrating furniture. Duet. 28.40: general application. Judges 9.8: anointing a king. 1,2 Sam; 1,2 Chron; Psalms.: consistently of consecrating kings. Isaiah 25.7: cosmetic. Isaiah 61.1: messianic. Jer. 22.14: painting a house. Ezek. 16.9: medicinal. Dan. 9.24: consecrating the Holy of Holies. Hosea. 8.10: kings. Amos 6.6: cosmetic. Luke 4.18 Acts 4.27 10.38 2 Cor. 1.21 Heb. 1.9 Page 18
3. The Meaning of the Word Faith in Scripture The Prayer of Faith © 2001 Roderick A. Graciano James actually mentions two kinds of faith. First, the faith of Hebrews 11.1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This is the unwavering faith that does not doubt of James 1. The second is “the concept of faith in accordance with the rabbinic assertion of ’emuna, which means the assertion of monotheism! Faith…for James it is orthodox opinion.” 51 This is the faith of James 2: “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” Which concept of faith is in view in James 5.15? Is James talking about a prayer that does not doubt, or is he referring to a confession of orthodoxy? Is there a third alternative, such as simple trust in God’s character? No, we must have some basis to import a meaning of faith that is alien to our context. Apart from such a basis, we must interpret pivsti" consistently with James’ other usage. Is then James’ “prayer of faith” a recitation of the Shema? Hardly! James’ whole discussion of “orthodox faith” is about a faith that cannot save (2.14: mh; duvnatai hJ pivsti" sw'sai aujtovn). In 5.15 he is talking about a faith that will save (hJ eujch; th'" pivstew" swvsei to;n kavmnonta). We are left with James’ first concept of faith, the faith that does not doubt. Still other meanings of the word faith are used by Paul. Paul emphasizes the exercise of faith in justification (Gal. 2.16), i.e. faith in the finished work of Christ. He does not ignore the part faith plays in living out the Great Commission after justification though. Consider his mention of the gift of faith in 1 Corinthians 12; his hope that as the Corinthians’ faith grows his ministry will expand (2 Cor. 10.15); his summation of the Christian life as “pivsti" di∆ ajgavph" ejnergoumevnh” (“faith working through love,” Gal. 5.6). In the epistles to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of a faith that produces action, but he seems to have basic Christian faith in mind, with the specific fruit of endurance in persecution and consistent righteous living (1 Thess. 1.3, 8; 3.7,8; 2 Thess. 1.3,4, 11; 2.13). This is in contrast to “mountain-moving” faith for a specific challenge in prayer, though we must recognize that the line is thin between a faith that supernaturally carries one through persecution and a faith that pulls some other miracle down from the hand of God. It strikes me that the primary difference is the clear revelation we have on the former. It takes little discernment to understand from the scriptures that God wills us to stand firm and not deny Christ nor give in to immorality in the face of persecution. We can pray in faith: “Lord, give me the power to stand firm even in the face of death or torture.” The quality of faith is the same as that for praying, “Lord heal this cripple.” The only difference is the further discernment required for the latter. In 1 Timothy 1.19 we find faith used to mean “the life of faith.” Faith, like love, should summarize the Christian life. In 2.7 find reference to “the true faith,” and so we have faith as a religious system, or set of religious beliefs (4.7; 5.8; 6.21; 2 Tim. 3.8). Then in 1 Timothy 4.12, faith is listed along with speech, life, love and purity as something for Timothy to “be an example in,” and in 6.11 is listed with righteousness, godliness, love, endurance and gentleness as something to “pursue” (cf. 2 Tim. 2.22). Likewise, in the chiastic verse 4 of Philemon, 52 Paul professes to have heard of Philemon’s faith, and since it is not news that Philemon was a believer, we quickly realize that he is talking about the outworking of Philemon’s faith. Again faith in Christ is seen as the impetus behind righteous and benevolent works. In 1 Peter 1.5, we find the shield of faith (cf. Eph. 6.16), the same faith that is refined by trials (v.7), whose object is God (v.21). In 2 Peter, faith appears in the salutation as that gift of God that allows us to know Him. In 1 John, faith is that belief in Christ that lifts a person above the trials and temptations of the age, “the victory that has overcome the world.” In Jude, we have again faith as the orthodoxy we must contend for. In Revelation, the emphasis is on faithfulness in tribulation. Page 19
Page 1 and 2: The Prayer of Faith © 2001 Roderic
Page 17: Appendices 1. James 5.13-18 Diagram

The Prayer of Faith and Healing In James 5 - Timothy Ministries

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