James 5:14-15



14Is 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:

15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (KJV)

My first real experience with faith healing involved using the above Scripture. I was a denominational pastor at the time. My oldest daughter, a Senior in High School, had a girl friend who had terminal cancer.

My daughter told her to ask me to pray for her healing. She called me and I told her to read the above Scripture first, think deeply about what she had read and then call me back if she still wanted to pursue healing by faith.

She read it and a day or two later called me back and said "full speed ahead." She wanted to pursue healing by faith.

Next, I called those in the church whom I considered to be on a higher spiritual level with God and asked them to meet with me. When they arrived at my study, I explained to them why I had asked them to meet with me. I explained that this little girl had a terminal cancer and that if God did not reverse course with her by a supernatural healing, she would in all probability die.

I read them the Scripture above and gave them the opportunity to leave if they did not want to participate. None left.

Next, I called in the girl. I asked her again if she wanted to pursue healing by acting on God's word. She again said yes. Then I placed a chair in the center of the elder men and asked her to sit down in it. She did. My daughter was in the room with her.

According to the above Scriptures, the elder men and I anointed her with oil and prayed for her healing. We saw no visible sign that she was different at all. (This is the place that many grow weak and quit.) I explained that many times we must wait for a time lag before we see the physical results.

The next day she had to go to her doctor for a checkup and blood test. Her dad took off work that morning and took her. They did the tests as they did every time. Then her dad took her to school and went to work.

Later that same day, her dad (while still at work) received a call from the doctor who asked him to bring the girl back to his office the next morning. The dad asked if anything was wrong. The doctor assured him there was nothing wrong. He said that he simply needed to do the test over as this one did not take. "Nothing to be alarmed about," he reassuringly told the dad.

Early the next morning they were back at the doctor's office. They did the test again. Then she went to school and he went back to work. Then, just a little later in the morning, the doctor again called the dad and asked him to please come back by his office.

He did. The doctor said that he did not know what was going on but both tests showed that his little girl was absolutely cancer free. Cancer Free!

Learn something! This is healing by faith. Believing is simply acting on what God said. In this case He very simply said for a sick person to call the elders of the church together and allow them to do the two things they are instructed to do for healing.

This child did! She was not and is not a theologian by any means. But she did not have to be anything but obedient.

She obeyed and God delivered the goods. Is God any different today? Is His word less powerful now than it was then? Did he love her anymore than He loves you and me and our loved ones? Of course not. He changes not. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

By the way, this healing occurred in 1982. Till this very hour, this high school girl has never had even one symptom of a recurrence of her cancer. What kind of cancer? She had leukemia.