· A House
James 5:14–15; John 9:1–3; Romans 8:22–23; Matthew 4:23–24
Have you ever prayed for healing and wondered if God still moves the way He did in Scripture? On Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Bob Stiles speaks honestly about both the thrill of miraculous breakthrough and the agony of unanswered prayer. He shows from Scripture that sickness was never part of God's design, that God is by nature a healer, and that James 5 invites the sick to bring their weakness into community and be prayed for in faith.
Key takeaways
- Not all sickness is the result of personal sin; Jesus refused that premise in John 9, so let go of the question "What did I do wrong?"
- Sickness is part of the brokenness that entered creation at the fall, and even Spirit-filled believers groan while they wait for the redemption of their bodies.
- If you are sick, you are not outside God's concern; you are right in the middle of the problem He came to solve.
- God heals supernaturally and through the wisdom He has given doctors, and both are healing, so keep taking your medicine and let the doctor confirm what God has done.
- James 5 speaks to the sick person first: come out of isolation, call for spiritual leaders to pray over you, and trust that prayer offered in faith makes the sick well.
Message notes
Did God really do that?
Pastor Bob Stiles opens with the story of Reggie White, the Green Bay Packers defensive end who tore his hamstring in December 1995, was told by team doctors that he was done for the season, and then showed up the next day suited up for practice saying he had prayed and God had healed him. Stories like that raise a question: did God really heal his leg? And behind it sits a deeper one: does God still heal people physically today when we pray for each other?
A personal history with healing
Pastor Bob grew up in a Baptist church where prayers for healing were offered "if it be your will," and as a kid he never saw anyone healed. In his teens he watched people physically healed at a Kathryn Kuhlman meeting, and in college he was filled with the Holy Spirit and led into praying for people who were oppressed. In his twenties a healing conference changed him: he watched a man call someone forward, pray, narrate what he was doing, and see instant healing. The speaker challenged the room to pray for two hundred people wherever they could, promising they would see God move and be hooked for life. Pastor Bob took the challenge and found it to be true.
The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat
Few topics stir more hope, and more frustration and disappointment, than healing. Pastor Bob tells of a woman with severe diabetes who was instantly healed when he and his brother laid hands on her while planting a church; her doctor later told her she no longer had diabetes. He is careful to add that they told her to keep taking her medicine and see her doctor, because God heals supernaturally and also through the wisdom and skill He has given to doctors, and both are healing. But he also prayed for a young mother with an inoperable brain tumor who was not healed and eventually died, and he went home and wept bitterly. Like the old Wide World of Sports opening, healing holds both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Understanding sickness
When people get sick, their first question is often what they did wrong. The disciples asked the same thing in John 9 about the man born blind, and Jesus refused the premise: neither he nor his parents sinned, but this happened so the works of God might be displayed. Scripture does teach that choices have consequences, and Pastor Bob recalls praying for a man whose back pain kept moving until he confessed unforgiveness toward his brother, after which the pain left. But not all sickness is a result of personal sin. The deeper answer is that sickness is part of the comprehensive brokenness that entered creation at the fall in Genesis 3; sickness is just death arriving early. Romans 8 says the whole creation groans, and even believers who have the Spirit groan as they wait for the redemption of their bodies. Sickness is not proof of weak faith or God targeting you. The better question is how God wants to meet you and work through you in it.
God is a healing God
Healing runs through almost every book of the Bible because it is not a program God runs but who He is: Jehovah Rapha, "I am your healer." Matthew 4 summarizes Jesus' ministry as teaching, proclaiming the good news, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
What to do when you're sick
James 5 asks, "Are any of you sick?" The question is addressed to the sick person, not the one praying. Sickness isolates, and God calls the sick out of isolation into community. Call the elders to pray over you and anoint you with oil: at Elan that can be a pastor, a Group leader, a Team leader, or a prayer room servant leader who looks after you spiritually. There is nothing magical about the oil, so don't send away for holy oil from Israel; it is simply a point of contact and a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well, and sins will be forgiven.
Pentecost Sunday prayer
Rather than finish every point, Pastor Bob lands the plane early so the church can wait on the Holy Spirit and pray for the sick together, asking God to suddenly come and show that He is still present, still powerful, and still the healer.
