Sickness, Prayer, and Annointing

“Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15, NKJV)

James asks his readers: “Is any one of you sick?” Perhaps some in the assembly would have known exactly what James was describing. Yet, for us today, there are several questions this verse creates. These verses have stirred centuries of debate.

At first glance, it seems straightforward: someone who is physically ill calls for the church’s elders to gather around him, anoint him with oil, and pray for him[JF1]. Simple enough. Yet there are many questions that linger here. First and foremost is: what if the “sick” person in this passage is not someone with a physical ailment but is someone spiritually worn down, weary in their faith, or even entangled in sin? What if James is speaking of someone whose soul has grown weak and whose faith has grown cold?

The keyword in James 5:14 is the Greek word translated as “sick” (asthenei). The word can certainly refer to physical illness, but it is frequently used in the New Testament to describe spiritual weakness. The word literally means “weak or without strength.” For example, in Romans 14, Paul uses the same word to describe those who are “weak in faith” (Romans 14:1-2). Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 8, Paul speaks of those with a “weak conscience” (1 Corinthians 8:9-12). In other words, they are not physically sick; they are spiritually fragile, struggling, or morally conflicted.

Throughout his short letter, James had frequently spoken of the need for Christians to endure and persevere under trial. In context, James had just urged believers to be patient in suffering (5:7-12). When James asks, “Is anyone sick?”, he is not thinking of sickness and disease; he is thinking of sin and temptation. He is asking if there are any in the church who are struggling and need accountability.

The instruction James gives is for the sick individual to call for the elders of the church. If the issue was a physical one, what reason would he have to suggest calling the elders? What connection do the church’s shepherds have to the physical sickness of church members? If it were a physical sickness, he could have told the person to pray about himself or perhaps to seek other godly people to pray for him. In addition, there would not seem to be a need for any anointing with oil in this situation. We can intercede for one another without being in their presence. The very phrase here suggests that this is a person who is unable to help himself spiritually, someone who has reached a point where he needs help. He needs a shepherd.

It’s hard to see the exact reason to involve the elders in this way if the issue was someone with a serious health situation. The prayers of the elders do not carry greater weight before God’s throne. If it were a physical sickness, why would he not tell them to call a doctor or to seek out medicine? Also, there is no reason to believe the elders of the church had the spiritual gift of healing. Elders are spiritual leaders who are responsible for shepherding the souls of the church members. If the issue is a spiritual sickness or weakness, the passage makes much more sense.

James then states that the prayer offered in faith will save the one who is sick. The focus here is on the power of prayer. We observe it is the prayer that James says has the impact, not the oil. James will state later that the “fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (5:16).

Admittedly, James’s language seems to indicate a promise of physical healing. The elders pray, and the sick person will be made well. However, we have seen many instances where the physically ill were fervently prayed for and not healed. If this is a general promise that if a sick person follows this prescribed plan, he will be healed, we are left with even greater questions. In this passage, the promise is not that every illness will vanish; rather, it is that no believer who turns to God in their weakness will remain there.

James also speaks of the power of the prayer offered in faith. Whose faith is James speaking about? Is it the faith-filled prayer of the elders or of the spiritually sick man who summoned his elders? It must be the faith of the spiritually sick person who called for the elders to pray. This individual had the faith to ask for prayer and had the faith to call upon their spiritual leaders.

James says that the faith-filled prayer will “restore” the one who is sick. The word for “restore” is a word that can also mean “save.” James does not say that the prayer will heal him; he says it will save him. This is not a promise for physical healing; it is a promise of spiritual deliverance. This is a person being saved from sin and spiritual death.

The word translated “sick” in verse 15 is a different word than was used for sick in verse 14. This word (kamno) means to be weary or fainthearted and does not primarily speak of physical sickness.

Another question this verse prompts is the call for the elders to anoint the sick person with oil. In the Bible, anointing with oil was used for several reasons. It was used in religious ceremonies and consecration (Leviticus 8:10), to anoint prophets, priests, and kings (1 Samuel 16:12-13), and medicinally (Mark 6:13; Luke 10:34). Oil was also used for refreshing (Psalm 23:5).

It is certainly not wrong for the elders of the church to anoint a sick person with oil and pray over that person, but this is not what James is talking about here. The oil did not have magical healing properties. Here, the oil is merely symbolic. It is symbolic of consecration and setting apart to the Lord. It is symbolic of renewal, spiritual refreshing, and strengthening by God. The oil was a visible and tangible symbol to the one who was spiritually sick that he would be restored.

James adds two additional things that will take place when these prayers are offered. First, he says the “Lord will raise him.” This is resurrection language. This is not merely being raised from the sickbed, but it is being raised from spiritual death to spiritual life. James is saying God will raise them from their struggles and from their spiritual weakness. Second, he says, “if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” Again, this points to the fact that we are dealing with a spiritual issue more than a physical issue. There is not necessarily any connection to our sins and our physical issues, but there would be a connection between sin and spiritual weakness.

The rest of James’s letter strengthens this whole point. Just a few verses later, James speaks of confessing sin to one another (5:16) and restoring those who have wandered from the truth (5:19-20). By the conclusion of James 5, he specifically speaks of restoring a brother who has wandered from the truth. The context here suggests the concern is on spiritual resilience and restoration, not physical healing from a physical sickness.

This passage is often read as a manual for physical healing. However, when we examine the text and the flow, a clearer picture emerges. James is teaching about the importance of spiritual care and the promise of spiritual restoration. It is a call for the church to take spiritual weakness seriously and create a place where people can ask for help. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer observed, “he who is alone with his sin is utterly alone.” James 5 offers the opposite. It prescribes that believers should be able to count on their spiritual leaders to pray for them in the midst of their struggles. James 5 is not about our physical bodies; it is about our souls’ condition. It is about the spiritually weak and weary. It is about elders who step in with prayer. Above all, it is about a God who restores.

Jason Cole is an evangelist at Lake Mount Church of Christ in Rogers, OH.  He and his wife Stephanie have been blessed with seven children. Jason also teaches for Summit Theological Seminary and Louisville Bible College. He can be reached at jason4jc@yahoo.com.