Until We Confess And Forsake Our Sins The Prayerful Anointing Of Our Body With Oil By The Elders Will Not Result In Restoration To Health He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake. (Ps. 23:3) In the valley he restoreth my soul - https://youtube/watch?v=_g6NOMwm6Ec There are so many people today who are sick. Some have sickness that have come upon their bodies because of they have disobeyed the health laws prescribed by God. Some have sickness which they have inherited from their ancestors. Others have sicknesses which are caused by dangerous chemical in the environment. No matter the source of your sickness, God has the power to restore your health. In James 5:14, 15 the Lord points out what we must do in order to gain restoration of our health when we are sick. The Apostle said, “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.” Notice very carefully the first thing that the sick person must do. They must request for the anointing and prayer. Unless a sick person sees the need for God’s intervention, how can they expect God to intervene? We must realize that God is the only one who can heal our sickness and unless we get to this point in our Christian walk, we will never receive the restoration required to usher us into heaven at the second coming of Jesus. Another important required for the sick person is the confession of sins. The writer of the lesson reminds us that God will not heal us in our state of sinfulness. We must confess our sins and turn away from them if we want God to act on our behalf. We cannot expect God to healing from diabetes if we continue to disobey the laws of healthy eating outlines in the scriptures. We cannot expect God to heal us from Prostate Cancer for us to continue to eat the types of food which we know will contribute to the recurrence of this disease. God has no intention of healing us so that we can continue to live in sin. We must decide to forsake the sinful practices if we want to receive the healing that God freely offers to us. We must remember that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not dwell in a temple that is filthy. He will not dwell in a temple that continues to disobey the health laws. Many of us are sick today because we have not gained the victory the first temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness. The temptation of appetite continues to be a very big challenge for a lot of us and as a result we continue to struggle with ill health. The Bible reminds us that God will stand up for us if we stand up for Him. I pray that as we see the restoration from our sickness that we will confess our sins and ask God to give us the power to forsake the back health choices we have made in the past. God can give us the victory, we must believe in Him to receive it. In the matter of praying for the sick . . . I have been considering many things that have been presented to me in the past in reference to this subject. {CH 373.1} Sin has brought many of them where they are--to a state of feebleness of mind and debility of body. Shall prayer be offered to the God of heaven for His healing to come upon them then and there, without specifying any conditions? I say, No, decidedly no. What, then, shall be done? Present their cases before Him who knows every individual by name. Present these thoughts to the persons who come asking for your prayers: We are human; we cannot read the heart or know the secrets of your life. These are known only to yourself and God. If you now repent of your sin, if any of you can see that in any instance you have walked contrary to the light given you of God and have neglected to give honor to the body, the temple of God, but by wrong habits have degraded the body which is Christs property, make confession of these things to God. Unless you are wrought upon by the Holy Spirit in special manner to confess your sins of private nature to man, do not breathe them to any soul. Christ is your Redeemer; He will take no advantage of your humiliating confessions. If you have sin of a private character, confess it to Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1. If you have sinned by withholding from God His own in tithes and offerings, confess your guilt to God and to the church, and heed the injunction that He has given you: Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse. Malachi 3:10. . . . Praying for the sick is a most solemn thing, and we should not enter into this work in any careless, hasty way. Examination should be made as to whether those who would be blessed with health have indulged in evilspeaking, alienation, and dissension. Have they sowed discord among the brethren and sisters of the church? If these things have been committed they should be confessed before God and the church. When wrongs have been confessed the subjects for prayer may be presented before God in earnestness and faith, as the Spirit of God may move upon you. But it is not always safe to ask for unconditional healing. Let your prayer include this thought: Lord, Thou knowest every secret of the soul. Thou art acquainted with these persons; for Jesus, their advocate, gave His life for them. He loves them better than we possibly can. If, therefore, it is for Thy glory and the good of these afflicted ones to raise them up to health, we ask Thee in the name of Jesus, that health may be given them at this time. In a petition of this kind, no lack of faith is manifested. He knows our heart, for He reads every secret of the soul. He knows whether or not those for whom petitions are offered would be able to endure the trial and test that would come upon them if they lived. He knows the end from the beginning. Many will be laid away to sleep before the fiery ordeal of the time of trouble shall come upon our world. This is another reason why we should say after our earnest petition; Nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done. Luke 22:42. Such a petition will never be registered in heaven as a faithless prayer. (Counsels on Health, pg. 373-375; Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 11:25:59 +0000
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