Prayer and annoinment with oil

[Debbie R]

Pastor Mike,

I know that we pray for people and we have prayed over people, both of which I fully believe in.  I have recently been told that according to James 5:13-16, that we should be calling on the elders of the church and be anointed with oils.  I have witnessed where our prayers are being answered.  Feeling confused. What is your take on this?

[PastorMike]

Debbie, that's a pretty good question. I'm going to give it my best shot.

First, we actually do anoint with oil on occasion. It isn't something I've done often, but a few times it has been requested - the situations usually pretty dire - and we have complied.

My thoughts are that this passage is really spiritually focused. James says that "he prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up", but we know that prayer is no guarantee that the person will be healed. It is all according to God's will. This is also true in the anointing with oil circumstances, by the way. They are not guaranteed healing, either.

When we look through Scripture at the use of oil, my take is that it generally served one of two purposes (you can look at the verses I was looking at http://www.openbible.info/topics/anointing_with_oil:

1. I was used to consecrate an individual. It was a way of inviting God's presence. Kings and prophets were anointed, for instance. When someone had done something incredible in the name of the Lord, they were thought to have been anointed. We, as Christians, have been anointed with the Holy Spirit.

2. It was used medicinally. You might imagine that from a medicine standpoint, people in Bible days weren't very advanced. Although they tended to apply oil to an outward injury, it may be that they also used it as medicine when they were feeling ill. I'm not 100% on this one, but it is a theory.

So I don't think James was promising healing of the body, but rather he may have been focused on the healing of the soul. Does that mean we shouldn't anoint with oil? I think that it can still serve as a good reminder of who is in control and, ultimately, where healing comes from. But, I think God hears our prayers for healing whether or not oil is used and that prayers - or oil - are not guaranteed to heal us. That all comes down to God's plan for our life. Should we pray for healing? Absolutely! But, however those prayers turn out we must have faith that ultimately "28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

I hope this helps. First time I've ever really given it any thought.

[Michael:D]

In Mark 14:3 the Bible tells of the woman...

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

and continues in Mark 14:9 where Jesus says,

Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.

----

I have always found that passage to be a bit peculiar (if not cryptic...) For Jesus to specifically command that that this event be included in the scripture as a memorial to "HER" has always suggested that either this oil was far more interesting than we could hope to realize or that anointing with oil was far more valuable than anyone in that room could ever imagine. Then again... Since this story is intended to memorialize her, I have to wonder if the oil is actually insignificant? Might the message  be that sometimes it is better to focus our attention on a single individual in certain peril then  a multitude in unfortunate circumstances? I have always wondered about that...

[darolina:D]

 I always looked at "anointing w/oil" as kind of a metaphor on the healing power of the Holy Spirit.
@PastorMike Thank you for your answer because I wondered about that.