How to Pray when You Are In Pain by Rick Warren

most of you know by now that a couple weeks ago I doubled over in pain and had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency abdominal surgery and actually have to go back and out of the second half of that surgery in about a month so thanks for your prayers if you're concerned I love you so much but you also know by now that I always try to look and learn something from literally every circumstance in my life God doesn't want us to waste any experience instead he wants to use everything in our lives for good and for our growth that's the promise of Romans 8:28 and the Bible also commands pastors like me to use our own lives and experiences as models for the congregation's that we care for and lead it says it's very specifically in 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 8 Paul tells that church in Thessalonica Greece we love you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but we also shared from our own lives as well because you are so dear to us that's been a pastoral guide for me and leading you for over 38 years that my goals do not just simply share the gospel of God with you but to share my own life with you because I love you so much so while lying in that hospital bed for a week I asked God to help extract the lessons it would help you when you're in pain because everybody experiences pain and suffering and illness and sickness and God answered he planted the seeds for two messages that I want to share with you but everybody take out your message notes take out the outline that's inside your program and let's get started now the classic passage in the Bible on how to pray when you're in pain is James chapter 5 verses 13 to 17 let me read you the entire passage and then we'll look at it in details James 5:13 to 17 says this is any one of you having troubles then you should pray is any one of you happy then you should sing songs of praise is any one of you sick then you should call the elders or the leaders of your church to pray over you and anoint you with oil and name of the Lord then the prayer faith that's offered in faith will make the sick person well and the Lord will restore that person to health and if that person has sinned he will be forgiven so then confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed the prayer of a person living right with God is a very powerful and very effective and Elijah was a man just like us he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and didn't rain for three and a half years now before we get into the details of this I want you to notice several things about the passage I just read first prayer is mentioned five times in four verses this is a passage about how to pray when you're in pain second he mentions four kinds of situations there he talks about emotionally distressing situations he talks about relationally happy situations he talks about physically painful situations and he talks about spiritually harmful situations now the third thing I want you to notice is that the key sentence is the last part of almost the last verse it's verse 16 the prayer of a person living right with God is very powerful and very effective I want you to circle the word powerful the prayer of a person living right is powerful the Greek word there is the word inner Gale we get the word energy from it you say it's very energetic it's effective it's powerful there is enormous power in prayer prayer is our greatest privilege because we get to talk to God prayer is our greatest power because they can do whatever God can do prayer is the greatest potential for relieving praying and prayer is the greatest prescription for any situation you face in life pray about it prayer is the greatest provision that you can give to somebody else it's a gift and in this message today I'm gonna teach you how to pray for healing for yourself and how to pray for healing for other people who are sick now today we're just gonna ask three questions when should we pray for healing how do we pray for healing and what kind of person can pray for healing let's get right into it okay when should we pray for healing well this passage in James mentions three specific times he says first I should pray for healing when I'm feeling emotional pain when I'm feeling emotional pain James 5:13 says does anyone of you having troubles then you should pray now that word troubles is the work kakapo thea kakapo fea in greek is the word for stress or distress or mental and emotional suffering it troubles means to be stressed out that your mind is troubled your heart is trouble you're on the edge you're ready to give up in other parts of the Bible this word is actually translated as hardship it means when you go through hard times you're stressed out you're ready to throw in the towel the technical definition of this Greek word means internal distress due to external circumstances internal distress due to external circumstances now you know what I'm talking about you may just have had a week of that have you had a week like that this week internal distress because of external circumstances when things are hard in your life you need to pray when you're stressed out when stretched to the limit pray when your heart is breaking into a thousand pieces pray when tension is at an all-time high pray when troubles are coming at you faster than you can bat them away pray and when you had one of those days or one of those weeks or one of those months pray you said well what do I pray about Rick well when your heart is trouble the good place to start is just to ask God for wisdom earlier in this book of James in Chapter 1 he says if anyone lacks wisdom let him ask God who's willing to give it liberally now when you're asking God for wisdom you need to ask yourself some important questions you need to say God did I caused this trouble did did I bring this stress on my life because a lot of stress is self-inflicted or you could say God are you trying to use this pain to get my attention to point me in a different direction now want you to listen very closely sometimes you get stressed out sometimes you get distress sometimes you get troubled as the Bible calls it here because you're doing the wrong thing and you need to stop doing it you need to change you need to stop doing the wrong thing but there are other times you get stressed out you get tension you get anxiety and you're doing the right thing but you're doing it in the wrong way and that's what needs to change so you need to say god am i doing the wrong thing or am i doing the right thing in the wrong way you can ask God is there something I should be doing that I'm not doing or is there something that I'm doing that you want me to do in a different way and Psalm 18 verse 4 King David says in my distress that's the troubles I called to the Lord I'm so glad he didn't say in my distressed I turned on the TV or in my distress eight more or in my distress I drank more or in my distress I looked at pornography now he says in my distress I turn to the Lord God says everytime you get under stress talk to me about it don't repress it don't suppress it confess it and express it tell God he says when you're troubled pray now you know in the verse right before this passage in James 5 verse 12 it actually talks about not swearing I think that's pretty close to where we are because you know the typical response to stress and pain is to swear to curse I mean if you smashed your thumb with a hammer or in a car door you're most likely on I gotta say well praise the Lord no swearing is a typical response to pain but swearing has never solved any problem or relieved any pain so let me suggest a better alternative when you're in pain don't swear try prayer okay don't swear try prayer now James's accurate and of course the Bible is true and it always talks about life as it really is and life is not all bad sometimes things go great and that's why the second part of that verse you know says that we're to talk to God when we're happy am I supposed to only talk to God when I'm stressed out no James 5:13 the second part adds this is anyone of you happy then you should sing songs of praise now you may have never realized this but singing to God is actually prayer when you sing to God you're actually praying in fact in the Bible almost all of the prayers in the Bible were sung to God not said to God the Psalms the entire Book of Psalms are prayers son to God so let me give you a little tip if you're having a hard time thinking of what to say to God in prayer just start singing to him because that song is actually a prayer maybe you say god I like this song I'm gonna sing it to you God will be happy to receive that as your prayer singing to God is prayer Philippians 4:4 says rejoice to the Lord's always not only when things are good but when you're bad and when if things are going wrong way and if you're feeling weak remember Nehemiah 8:10 says this the joy of the Lord is your strength did you know that you can make up songs to God and sing them to him you might try it nobody else has to hear him Colossians 3:16 says this seeing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God to God with thankful hearts how do you how do you thank God on a regular basis how do you have the attitude of gratitude sing songs with grateful hearts but first I should pray what I'm feeling emotional pain now James gives us a second time we should pray I should pray when I'm feeling physical pain physical pain you need to cry out to God all through the Bible people did this in James chapter 5 verse 14 and 15 it says this is anyone of you sick now this is talking about physical pain and I'll come back to this word in just a minute the word sick is any of you sick then you should call the elders that's the leaders of your church to pray over you and anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord then the prayer that is offered in faith will make the sick well and the Lord will restore that person to health and if that person is send he'll be forgiven so then confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed now it says when you're sick you should pray the word here in Greek sick literally means without strength without strength what it means is you're bedridden you can't get out of bed you're so weak you can't even set up on the edge of your bed you're unable to work friends this is serious illness and it says when you call for elders to pray for you leaders in your church this is not a cold or a virus or acid indigestion or a post nasal drip it's not some minor ailment in the Bible this word for sick as the naio means a major illness it means usually life-threatening a good example this is the word in the Bible then the scribes Lazarus as illness and he died it's the same word that describes Dorcas 'as illness and she died too it's the same word that describes the paralyzed man who had sat at the Pool of Bethesda for literally decades unable to move so he's talking about a serious illness now when you ask the leaders of your church to pray for you and in verse 15 there's a different word though for sickness it's the word come no and calm no refers to somebody how do I say with chronic fatigue they're listless they're they're worn out they have no energy they have no ability to move that so weak you just have chronic fatigue now I need to tell you that the Bible talks about three kinds of sickness the first is the sickness for death the second of sickness or discipline and the third is the sickness for the glory of God let me explain them the first is the sickness for death everybody gets this sickness eventually if you did never get the sickness for death nobody would ever die and so you're gonna get the sickness for death one time in your life it's the it's the sickness that's going to kill you God does not intend for you to live forever on earth he wants you to live forever just not on earth he wants you in heaven so everybody gets this illness the sickness for death eventually the Bible mentions it in John 11 and in 1st John chapter 5 so sometimes you're praying for somebody to be healed and God said it's the sickness for death it's the one I'm going to take them home with and all the prayer in the world isn't going to change that the second kind of sickness is the sickness for discipline and that's when God uses illness this kind of illness to get our attention and to point us out in a new direction if if something is wrong in our lives we see this sickness for discipline in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 and that's the time when we go you know if I'm caused this problem on my loan and God allows you know if I eat a whole lot of sugar and I get diabetes I can't blame God for that that's the sickness for discipline then finally there's a third kind of sickness and that's the sickness Jesus called it for the glory of God now God can get glory either way in your illness he can get glory by healing you miraculously and you give him the credit or he can heal you by your attitude toward chronic illness being one of submission and trust and quiet peacefulness and say god I'm going to trust you even in my pain that brings glory to God too so you don't have to get healed for you to bring glory to God now let me just explain that there are a lot of wrong and even crazy ideas about healing that are floating around so just as your pastor who cares about you loves you I want you to not get sideswiped or you know detoured by these different groups one of the groups that's out there or what I would call the sensationalist these are some of these flamboyant healers that you see on TV and they're you know they're throwing their code around and knocking people over you know what let me just say this Jesus was never show off Jesus was never a sensationalist Jesus was never a manipulator Jesus never passed out flyers saying come down to the sea again only for a healing show today no all of his healings were pretty much in private that then later became public but he was never show off he was not a sensationalist we you want to avoid that kind of stuff the manipulation then there there's another group out there called the confession list and these are the the name it and claim it group what they believe is all you have to say I'm healed and then you're gonna be healed they believe that all sickness is a result of sin it's not they believe that lack of faith is the causes of a lot of sickness it's not they believe that if you're not healed it's your fault you just don't have enough faith you lack faith and well that's just not true in fact it contradicts so much of what the Bible says in his word it also creates a lot of false guilt and shame which are never of God if you're feeling false guilt the chain it's just not from God what what the the name of the claimant confessional astute is they turn God into a genie where he lives to serve my every whim my every need my every command and and that he's like a vending machine I put into prayer and I have to automatically get it because God owes me that turns God into your servant instead of you being God God's servant now the confessional Aswath say it as always God's will to heal you well that's certainly not true because we know from the Bible that many of the greatest Saints in the Bible and throughout history suffered their entire lives with chronic pain or illness and that's actually what made them saintly the pain drove them to dependence upon God and with this group who say you know just name it claim it they say it's always God's will to heal you and it's never God's will for you to have pain well that's just wrong you say how do you know that well what about first Corinthians 12 we're three times Paul asks for healing and three times God says no he says my grace is sufficient for you I have a better idea for Paul you're not a better Christian than Paul was and neither am i and if God told Paul three times I'm not gonna heal you well they're sometimes God's just not going to heal you so it's a myth that God always heals and what about all the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 who were not healed who were persecuted who were destroyed who were martyred who were maimed who with all kinds of diseases they were heroes of the faith and that they weren't healed you know the Bible has a lot to say about suffering let me show you a couple verses Philippians 1:29 says this you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him did you know that suffering is actually a privilege when you do it as a gift back to God we like the first part we like the privilege of being children of God we don't like the privilege of suffering for him and then first Peter 4/9 says this those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful creator and continue to do good if so just keep doing good even when you're in pain now notice it says those who suffer according to God's will sometimes suffering is God's will sometimes sickness is God's will sometimes pain is God's will for your life because God's more injured in your character than in your comfort so we've got the sensationalist who are out there just you know showing off of manipulating people we have the the the others who are just saying God wants to heal everybody but then at the other end of the stream is the opposite and it's just as wrong and these are the cessationists and this is the group of believers that believe that all miracles stopped at the end of of the New Testament that when the Bible is finished that all a miracle stopped and there really aren't any miracles today oh really come come talk to me after 40 years of ministry and let me tell you that miracles still happen today and and anybody who believes that God doesn't do any healing today have a problem with a lot of verses in Scripture for instance Hebrews 30 a twitch says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever the same Jesus who wanted to heal physical bodies 2,000 years ago he is the same yesterday today and forever he wants to heal bodies and minds and hearts today too so those cessationist who say it's it's ceased there are no more miracles today well they're just as wrong as the flamboyant people who think everything should be a miracle then they're the rationalists and this group of people basically say you know all sickness is just an illusion it's just in your mind you're not really sick it's just the way you think and if you change your thoughts then you won't have any pain in your body the Christian Science cult actually believes this that that when you're sick you simply deny what's happening to you and somehow it'll just kind of go away time heals everything well we're not that either what are we here at Saddleback and what does the Bible teach well we simply believe what the Bible says and the Bible teaches us two very different facts about illness and healing number one God still does heal people today I've seen it many many times miraculous times but because they're miracles they're called miracles because they don't happen every day if they happened every day if they happen all the time if they always happen they wouldn't be miracles miracles means they're unusual so yes that kind of healing happens but it's unusual it just doesn't happen to everybody all the time and that's the other thing God does want to heal people today but not everybody who wants to be healed is healed do you realize that even Jesus didn't heal everybody he walked around on this planet for three and a half years and there were left a lot of people who were still in pain lepers and the sick and the maimed and the broken and the aged and on and on so what does the Bible say you're supposed to do when you're sick what says to pray for each other and then it says leave the results to God in other words I do my part that's to pray and then I leave the healing part to God how do I do that well in this passage in James chapter 5 it talks about two kinds of praying for healing first it talks about how leaders in your church family are to pray for your healing and then second it talks about how you as a member of your church family are to pray for healing for other people and as members we're to pray for each other both of these are important and essential having your pastors your elders your bishops your deacons your elders your leaders pray for each other that's important and then having all the members pray for each other so how do we do that how do we pray for healing well let me give you some quick steps you might write these down first ask the spiritual leaders of your church family to pray for you that's what the Bible says verse 14 James 5:14 is any one of you sick and you should call the elders or the leaders of your church to pray over you and anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord by the way in class chapter 101 we explained how elders and pastors and bishops are actually the same people the term is used interchangeably a pastor is an elder is a bishop is an elder is a pastor and you can find that in 1st Peter 5 acts 20 and Titus - that's just says get the leaders your church so you could have your pastors pray for you you have your deacons your bishops your elders now this is one of the benefits of becoming a member of a specific church family you having having your personal church leaders pray for you listen if you're not a member of any specific church you just float around you hop around like a bunny from church to church week to week and you go to this church this week another church another week and some week no church if you're just floating around you can't do what I just told you that the Bible tells you to do you can't go to your pastor because you don't have one you haven't joined the membership of a of a family of a local family you haven't made that commitment now what you notice is as you go to the leaders of your church these guys aren't professional healers then that guys would go around holding healing meetings in fact in the Bible you can't find a single example of a healing crusade where somebody went down to Jerusalem or to Jericho and put on a big tent revival and said that all the sick people come see me no in fact in the Bible it's the exact opposite notice in this passage who does the calling it says Paul for the leaders if you're sick now notice it's not the leaders calling the sick leaders aren't saying you all come down and we're gonna have an invitation and you all come tonight that's gonna be a great healing service the leaders don't do the calling the sick do the calling this is a house call it's a private service it says you were to call the leaders of your church to come to you remember because you're so sick you can't even get out of bed so and one of the reasons we do this at private is so the sick person is not put on show they're not embarrassed they're not pressured it's a private intimate act you know if anybody had the right to hold a healing meeting a mass healing meeting Jesus could have done it but he didn't and in the New Testament healing was usually a private matter as I said he later publicly announced now on a private basis when you pray for people people feel loved they don't feel used if you're doing and praying for people in front of a big crowd they may feel used to manipulating let me say this if you have the gift of healing you personally if you have to get to you you should be going into the homes of the sick not asking them to come see you the Bible says you go to them now let me mention this if you don't tell your pastors at Saddleback Church or whatever church you attend that you are sick then we can't pray for you that's why it's important part of worship each week for you to fill out the little response card the commitment card that's in every bulletin or in the chair in front of you because we can't know what to pray for unless you tell us what to pray for in this situation who takes the initiative the sick person if you're sick you need to write a prayer across a pastor's please pray for me now again the Greek word sick refers to some life-threatening illness it's not some minor ache or pain I've got a toothache or you know my feet hurt or whatever step one is to call the leaders of your church and they come to you step two is to have them pray over you and anoint you with oil that's what James 5:14 says it says have them pray over them anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord now those circle the word over pray over them why is that important because literally most likely they're so sick they couldn't get out of bed and people are literally praying over them they're standing over the bed because they you're so sick can't even get up now what about this oil thing anoint with oil oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit all throughout the Bible it's a symbol of God's presence now there's no magic power in any oil anymore there's no magic power in the water of baptism it's just water and the juice that we drink or the wine that we drink that is simply just juicer or wine and so it's not the magic power of oil in anointing with oil it's the faith that it represents and by the way the kind of oil makes no difference at all you can even kind of oil you want to use you know it's kind of funny to me I'll tell you this that some Bible interpreters missed the point that they think that the use of oil is just like a soothing balm it's like your pray for them and then you kind of know it with oil which means you're massaging it into their skin like massage oil well that may sound nice but what good would that do for somebody with a deathbed illness none so massaging somebody with oil isn't gonna make somebody who's on their deathbed rise up and walk again the emphasis here is not on the power of oil it's on the power of prayer so you call your church leaders you ask them to pray for you and then step three is you pray in the name of the Lord and you pray in faith James 5:14 and 15 says is pray and anoint in the name of the Lord then the prayer that has been offered in faith will make the sick person well and the Lord will restore that person to help now notice there are two qualifications for a prayer that creates healing first it has to be done in the name of or in Jesus name God is the healer not any person we we healing is based on God's character not who you are Who I am so we pray you know in the name of the Lord and second we pray in faith Hebrews 11:6 without faith is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him now by the way there's one more category of pain I don't want to miss out on this that we should cry out to God for in prayer we're to pray when we're emotionally in pain we're to pray when we are physically in pain number three we are to pray when I'm feeling spiritual pain and that's the third thing this passage talks about when when I'm in spiritual pain I need to pray what spiritual pain well guilt shame resentment doubt is spiritual pain fear is spiritual pain anxiety is spiritual pain and the Bible says that when we have our spirit messed up our spirits out of whack then it creates disease and discomfort and even illness in our bodies James 5:15 says this and if that person has sinned he will be forgiven yeah right in the middle of this passage I'm praying for people healing it says and by the way if the person ascends they will be forgiven - is there any connection between sin and sickness of course there is yes but not all sickness is a result of personal sin did you hear me I'm gonna say it again not all sickness is a result of personal sin that's just not true in Jesus day and in many places today it's taught that all sickness as a result of personal sin but Jesus said that's not so and a good example this would be John chapter 9 verse 2 where a man who was born blind is asked by the Pharisees who sinned that caused this illness did you sin or did his parents sin well that's because they stuck to the mentality that all sin causes illness and all illnesses caused by sin well that's it's just not true there are a lot of sins and that don't cause illness and there's a lot of illnesses that aren't caused by sins on the other hand on the other hand Jesus did teach that a lot of illness is caused by our own sense let me give you some example mark chapter 2 verse 9 he tells the paralyzed man you're forgiven this man was paralyzed not just physically he was paralyzed with guilt he says you're forgiven and John 5:14 he tells the man healed by the Pool of Bethesda now go and sin no more so nothing more serious will happen to you he tells the guy who's been a for twenty years or longer going sin no more so there's obviously a connection here and in 1st Corinthians 11 it warns us that some people who misuse the Lord's Supper actually got sick and died that's how serious this is now you know what I'm talking about if we don't take care of our bodies we get sick if I don't get enough sleep I get sick if I eat the wrong food junk food I get sick whose fault is that and because we're we're whole people are spiritual and emotional physical and relational aspects are all interrelated they're all intertwined I know some of you think it will rip if God has promised to heal why isn't everybody healed and I'll tell you my very learned and based opinion on this why isn't everyone healed the answer is I don't know I just don't know my brain isn't big enough to understand all the ways of God God is the power to heal everyone but his purpose is different for each life and obviously not everybody gets healed now he does give us however a preventative strategy for getting healthy and staying healthy and in James chapter 5 16 here's the the strategy for getting healthy and staying healthy James 5:16 so then confess your sins to each other notice it doesn't say confess them to a priest then say confess them to God it says confess them to each other confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed if you want to confess your sins to God and be forgiven oh I have to just tell God but if you want to be healed of the trauma of the emotion of the shame of the guilt you need to tell somebody else pray for each other so that you may be healed and the prayer of a person living right with God is very powerful and effective friends this is another benefit of getting connected to the membership of a church family it's why you need to join a church not just attended church you need to throw your hat in in the ring you need to to sign up you need to take class 101 join a family become a part of a small group so you can be healed in every area you know I've learned from personal experience that this verse is one of the most emotionally liberating experiences it's psychologically sound it's spiritually true revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing tell somebody about that pain in your life physical emotional spiritual relational financial whatever now finally what kind of person can pray for healing in other words don't you have to be some kind of spiritual giant first no any believer can pray for anyone else who needs healing did you realize this you can be used by God to bring healing in someone's life you don't have to be somebody special you know a lot of Christians today feel inferior and and they know I'm just not the man of God or the woman of God I need to be well of course you are neither am i and many Christians feel inferior they're unwilling to ask God for things in prayer because you know God's done so much for me why should I ask him to heal me or anyone else for that matter and other people feel you know I'm just too unworthy to ask for healing in prayer or miracles in prayer because you know I'm having a hard time just being resisting temptation so this passage on how to pray when you're in pain by reminding us of a guy named Elijah did you know this is when I read that passage earlier it's all talking about prayer and healing and then all sudden he just throws in a guy named Elijah why in the world need to do that the last verse in the passage James 5:17 it says this Elijah was a man just like us underline that Elijah was a man just like us he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it didn't rain for three and a half years later he prayed that it would rain and down came a Galli washer a drenching a refreshment that the entire nation needed now why does God bring up Elijah when he's talking about how to pray when you're in pain well there are two reasons first this guy's life Elijah's life was filled with miracles and these miracles happen simply because he prayed there were so many amazing miracles in his life simply because an ordinary man prayed just as important though God tells us that Elijah was not some super hero he was not some super saint of faith he was not anything particular special not a super saint he was just an ordinary guy like you like me who believed in an extraordinary God and the Bible says as a result all kinds of miracles happened the key is the phrase Elijah was a man just like us circle that phrase a man just like us praying for healing is not just for the spiritual elite or for pastors or for ordained missionaries it's for all of us it's your right it's your blessing it's your responsibility as part of the family of God you know if I had time I would take you back to the books of the Old Testament that show how Elisha battled all these common problems Elisha at one point was overcome with fear he had a problem with the anger management he got lonely he the Bible tells us he worried the Bible says he he had emotional burn out he's a man just like us and God mentions Elijah because the lesson of his life is this you don't have to be perfect to pray and get answers you don't have to be perfect to pray and see people be healed from your prayers that's good news I don't know where you need healing today maybe it's a relationship and it needs to be healed maybe you need to be healed in your body your back or something in your stomach or your mind maybe your heart is heavier your mind is confused maybe you struggle with a mental illness maybe you have you need financial healing or healing in your marriage or with a child or a relative I will tell you this this is the church that believes God answers prayers he doesn't always answer him our way he doesn't always answer them in our timing you bet he always answers prayers in the way that is best for us and this is also a church family where we pray for each other and we're going to do that today after this service this is an imperfect church for imperfect people who willing to admit their weaknesses confess your faults one to another and pray for one another whereby you can be healed my dream is that Saddleback is a place of healing it's a place where people feel so loved and so accepted unconditionally that they dare to share their weaknesses and their struggles and their sins and the temptations why because nobody has it all together that's why we need each other that's why I need you as your pastor I need you just like you need me thank you for praying for me these last couple weeks in my physical healing after emergency surgery I want you to know that I pray for you all the time now this service is not helpful at all unless you actually take advantage of it and after this service is over I've asked people that I've trained to be available to pray personally for you and to anoint you with oil there's nothing spooky nothing mystical about this as I said there's nothing magical in the oil or in the prayer it's the faith of these people and your faith and God and doing what God tells us to do God is very clearly in this passage told us how to pray for healing and so after this service is over I want to invite you to go out to your patio or wherever part of your campus is where people we pray and you will be prayed for one-on-one I've actually written out a prayer of faith for them to read and to give to you and then they're going to know it you with oil this could be the breakthrough you've been waiting for this week good could weekend could be the turning point in your life now I'm going to ask those of you who are already assigned to help pray for people and anoint with oil you guys go ahead and get up right now and start moving to where you need the rest of you if you'll stay seated for just a minute those of you are going to be praying for people and anointing others with oil you could get up and start moving out to where you're going to receive the materials that you need and then I'm going to pray for you we're going to give our offerings and if you have some kind of commitment to make fill out that card that every time you fill out that card that is an act of worship it's the commitment card it's my response to what God wants to do in my life so let's bow our heads let me pray for you heavenly father may this weekend be a weekend of great healing may people be healed emotionally may people be healed physically may people be healed financially may people be healed in their relationships and friendships and in families and in marriages do what only you can do we're gonna do what you've told us to do you've told us if we're sick if we're sad if we're stressed if we're if we're guilty no matter what happens in our lives we're to come to you and pray I pray for the issue we'll be praying and anointing with oil and that this would be a holy moment a spiritual moment may this be a turnaround point in their lives give us the courage to ask for prayer and to receive it you've said you have not because you ask not now with their heads still bowed if you've never opened your life to Jesus Christ would you pray this simple prayer say dear God I ask you to send your son to save me Jesus Christ come into my life as best as I know how fill me with your love and your forgiveness and your freedom I want to follow you as best I know how I want to learn to trust you and love you and as much as I know how I ask you to accept me into your family God because of what Jesus did for me when he died on the cross I don't understand at all but I'm coming to you humbly to say I need you God just say that I don't understand at all but I'm coming you coming to you Jesus Christ and saying I need you God in my life father I pray that this would be a wonderful healing weekend in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit amen

Channel: Saddleback Church Hong Kong

Views: 7,630

Rating: 4.9148936 out of 5

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Id: mSRUopR9IOw

Length: 43min 20sec (2600 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 23 2019