Anointing with Oil

James 5:13-16

"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.

Is any merry?  let him sing psalms.

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 hath committed sins,

they shall be forgiven him.

Confess your faults one to another,

and pray one for another,

that ye may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man

availeth much."

Are these verses for us today or was this just for their culture?  Is this a command or just a suggestion to use when all else fails?  

Do I actually need to call for the elders or can we just practice it privately as a family or perhaps just anoint myself in my heart?

What's so powerful about oil?  Can't I just pray in faith?

I have a kidney stone and I have called for the elders to come tonight to anoint me with oil to be healed.  You know, it takes a lot of humility to ask someone to come anoint you.  If you have never done it, then you might not understand why that would take humility, but just take it from me, there is something about it that requires humility.

What if I didn't like my elders/pastors?  What if I was at odds with them?  How would I go about asking them to anoint me with oil?  Don't worry, I'm not!  Just presenting a scenario.

Does the oil actually heal?  No, oil doesn't heal but for some reason God did say the elders/pastors should anoint the sick with oil in the name of the Lord.

BUT....the prayer of faith shall save the sick.  We should not eliminate the oil just because we don't understand it's role here but neither should we put our faith in the oil.  It's the prayer of faith, the anointing of oil, and simple obedience, too.

Hmm, what about confessing our faults to one another here?  ...that ye may be healed.  I've been to several anointing services where these steps were all followed and a time of confession was given; there was something very beautiful about it.  And yes, I've seen miraculous healings, too.  

If you do all this, does it guarantee that God will heal you?  It does say it SHALL save the sick but our human tendency likes to leave some loopholes for God, too.   

 I want to, and do, believe this but I also want to give God the power to decide when to instantly heal, when to gradually heal, when to use doctors to bring healing, and when to say "No" to my request.

I desire to follow this Scripture and would love if you would join us in praying for this kidney stone to be gone! 

 I am also working with an urologist and have an appointment to see him tomorrow.  He had recommended a procedure to blow the stone up but the hospital wants $10,000 up front...no problem, anyone have an extra $10.000 lying around?  Ha!

BUT   GOD!