Video Transcript: Elders and Praying for the Sick

Elders and Praying for the Sick

Introduction

All right, we are continuing. And here we are in session nine of the elders class, and we’re going to talk about another important role that as an elder you may experience, which is calling out the sick. Yes, the scripture calls it that way.

Here’s from James: “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise them up.”

That faith. Let them call the elders.

Now if you are an elder, particularly in that shepherding role, you will likely be called to visit somebody who’s sick. And I just—this is important—because you can be part of the way that God is going to bring hope and light and healing into the life of somebody in your church, or you can be the source of despair for them.

A Story from Philip Yancey

Yeah, one of my favorite authors is Philip Yancey. I’ve read everything that he has written. And in the intro to his book Where Is God When It Hurts, it’s an issue that he has dealt with in several of his books. Because if there’s a God and He’s all powerful, why do we experience the stuff we experience?

But he wrote this, after looking at interviewing many, many people who had experienced sickness. And how does God enter into our sickness when we are Christians?

I’m going to read just some visits to a woman named Claudia.

Claudia was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. She ended up having to go through a very painful, extensive surgery that would allow them to take out all the lymph nodes that had been infected. And then she had to go through radiation treatments after that. And so she’s in the hospital. She is miserable. She’s in constant pain. And people from her church come to visit.

And here’s just a list of them.

• A Deacon from her church solemnly advised her to reflect on what God was trying to teach her. “Surely something in your life must displease God,” he said. “Somewhere you must have stepped out of His will. These things don’t just happen. God uses circumstances to warn us and to punish us. What is He telling you?” Imagine that, laying in pain.
• A few days later Claudia was surprised to see a woman from church whom she barely knew. Evidently this plump, scatterbrained widow had adopted the role of professional cheerleader to the sick. She brought flowers, sang hymns, and stayed long enough to read some happy psalms about brooks running and mountains clapping their hands. Whenever Claudia tried to talk about her illness or prognosis, the woman quickly changed the subject. Trying to combat suffering with cheer and goodwill. She only visited once. And after a while, the flowers faded, the hymns seemed dissonant, and Claudia was left to face a new day of pain.
• Another woman dropped by, a faithful follower of television faith healers. Exuding confidence, she assured Claudia that healing was her only escape. When Claudia told her about the deacon’s advice, this woman nearly exploded. “Sickness is never God’s will,” she exclaimed. “Haven’t you read the Bible? The devil stalks us like a roaring lion, but God will deliver you if you can muster up enough faith to believe you’ll be healed. Remember, Claudia, faith can move mountains, and that includes Hodgkin’s disease. Simply name your promise in faith and then claim the victory.” The next few mornings, Claudia lay in the sterile cobalt treatment room. She tried to muster up enough faith. Wondered if she even understood the procedure. She didn’t question God’s power. But how do you go about convincing God of her sincerity?
• Perhaps the most spiritual woman in Claudia’s church brought along some books about praising God for everything that happens. “Claudia, you need to come to the place where you can say, God, I love you for making me suffer like this. It is your will. And you know what’s best for me. And I praise you for loving me enough to allow me to experience this. In all things, including this, I give thanks.” Claudia pondered her words. Her mind filled with a rather grotesque image of God. She envisioned a figure in the shape of a troll big as the universe, who took delight in squeezing helpless humans between His fingers, pulverizing them with His fists, whacking them against sharp stones. The figure would torture these humans until they cried out, “God, I love you for doing this to me.” The idea repulsed Claudia, and she decided she could not worship or love such a God.
• Yet another visitor, Claudia’s pastor, made her feel she was on a select mission. He said, “Claudia, you’ve been appointed to suffer for Christ, and He will reward you. God chose you because of your great strength and integrity, just as He chose Job. And He’s using you as an example to others. Their faith may increase because of your response. You should feel privileged, not bitter. What we see as adversity, God sees as opportunity.”

Now imagine lying there in pain. And you get those kinds of advisors coming. Shepherds coming. And I’ve heard all of these multiple times. And I’ve heard so many people even use those sort of things to try to cope, you know, themselves with it or whatever. But yeah, right. So.

Do’s of Visiting the Sick

You’re called to go to somebody and visit them. We’re going to talk in this session about what’s going to make that visit effective. I’m going to put it in terms of do’s and don’ts.

Here are some of the do’s:

• Plan your visit. Prepare. You want to share scripture, an encouraging scripture, in your visit. Look it up beforehand. Don’t just come. I had a practice — I memorized probably 15 different passages of scripture that I thought would be helpful. And then as I was in the process of visiting people, I would choose one.
• Let them know you are coming. Don’t show up at their house if they’re homebound unannounced. That is going to create all kinds of difficulties. Great story — my mother-in-law’s pastor ended up, you know, the church asked him to leave eventually. And one of the things he would do is just visit people without announcing his visit. And he showed up — a young couple had had a baby, and he showed up to make a baby visit at 10 p.m. “Yeah, where’s the new baby?” And they’re like… whoa. No. You schedule it.
• Make your visit brief. Don’t hang around, especially if somebody’s in pain. Ten minutes, fifteen minutes even — to express care, to pray with them and for them. That’s enough.
• Share your prepared scripture. Be positive. Assure them of your ongoing prayers and the prayers of the church. Put it in there again: be positive.
• Ask if there is a specific need that the church can meet. In every church I served, we had ministries where people were available to bring meals to families impacted by sickness. Ask: “Would that be helpful? Do you need somebody to clean your house?” Make sure you listen for needs.
• Be a good listener. Don’t dominate the conversation. It’s easy — as I read from Yancey’s story — the people who came in all had a message. But when somebody’s hurting, they want to talk. Don’t come in with dominating advice.

And in that James passage, it says: elders should be ready to anoint with oil.

Anointing with Oil

It’s interesting how that practice has kind of died out, at least I don’t hear about it very often. But it’s scriptural.

In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed. Remember David? Anointed as king. Oil was used medicinally as well. Psalm 23 says: “He anoints my head with oil.” That was a sign of being especially cared for, especially loved by God.

Mark 6:13: “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”

Hebrews speaks of God anointing with the oil of joy.

So what do we do today? In the churches I served, we would make this available. Sometimes after a service, elders would be available to pray with oil.

How do you do it? Usually just a drop of oil on the head. Doesn’t take much. Here’s my little bottle. You can get them at Christian bookstores or online. Doesn’t matter what kind of oil. Some call it “Rose of Sharon” oil. Doesn’t have to be fancy.

Invite the family to join. Often I would have everyone hold hands around the bed. Pray together. Because illness impacts the whole family.

And sometimes — I’ve seen it — healings happen. One girl in neonatal intensive care, diagnosed with no brain stem function. We prayed, anointed with oil. Later scans showed brain function. That child grew up to be a beautiful young woman.

Now, not always. But Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Don’ts of Visiting the Sick

• Don’t criticize or analyze the doctor’s work.
• Don’t discuss what you think is the cause.
• Don’t share your own story, unless it’s to show God’s care.
• Don’t ask the patient for a medical explanation.
• Don’t suggest medications or other doctors.
• Don’t visit at an inappropriate time, like when they’re being wheeled to treatment.
• Don’t ignore hospital staff or rules. Respect visiting hours. Cooperate with staff.

The Presence of Christ

So, the upshot is: you can be that image of the shepherd caring for the lambs. Elders can be part of someone experiencing the hands of Jesus holding them, encouraging them, especially as you share scripture and prayer.

You become the presence of Jesus in the life of people who are hurting. And man, what a difference it can make. The thanks you will hear afterward — this is one of the great moments of being an elder.

Don’t miss the opportunity. But be careful. There are lots of ways to do it wrong. That’s not a reason to avoid it, but a reason to do it well.

Caring for the Sick and Dying

Praying for the sick. Caring for the hurting. Especially caring for the dying.

Some of the most powerful moments of my ministry were with people who were dying.

I visited a friend every Friday for seven months as he battled cancer. At his funeral, two neighbors told me they had come to Christ because of how this man died, because of his testimony of faith. And I knew I had been part of that, pouring scripture and promises into him each week.

Elders, you can do this. Sometimes churches divide members into districts. And you care for those people. You become the hands of Jesus for them.

My wife is an elder. One winter while we were in Florida, a man who could no longer come to church because of pain tried to bring cookies to our house as a thank-you. That simple act showed he felt cared for.

So take this role seriously. Do it well. And God will use it.

Amen.