Prayer for Healing a Sick Loved One's Recovery
Prayer for the healing of a sick loved one is a common practice across Christian traditions, rooted in biblical examples and teachings. The New Testament explicitly encourages believers to pray for the afflicted, with specific promises attached to such prayers [3, 4].
One key passage is James 5:15, which states, "And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven" [3]. This verse suggests a direct link between faithful prayer and physical recovery, with the Lord being the agent of healing [3, 7, 8]. John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, interprets this as the prayer of elders, joined by the sick person's faith, bringing a blessing from God that restores health [7]. Adam Clarke, a Methodist/Wesleyan commentator, notes that while God often uses such prayers for recovery, there are instances where God may not restore health if it is deemed prejudicial to the patient's salvation [8]. Clarke suggests that prayers for healing should include a submission to God's will, asking for restoration "If it be most for thy glory, and the eternal good of this man's soul" [8].
The concept of God sending or permitting sickness is also present in scripture. Torrey's Topical Textbook lists numerous Old Testament passages where sickness is attributed to God, sometimes as a punishment for sin, or as a consequence of intemperance [5]. However, the same source also highlights God's promises to heal and His exhibition of mercy, power, and love in healing [5].
Beyond direct healing, prayer for the sick also encompasses broader well-being. The Apostle John, in 3 John 1:2, expresses a prayer for his beloved Gaius: "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers" [1]. This verse, rendered similarly in the BBE as "My loved one, it is my prayer that you may do well in all things, and be healthy in body, even as your soul does well," indicates a desire for holistic health—physical, material, and spiritual [2]. This aligns with the general Christian understanding that prayer should address all aspects of a person's life.
The duty to pray for the afflicted is emphasized in various biblical texts. Torrey's Topical Textbook cites Acts 12:5, Philippians 1:16,19, and James 5:14-16 as mandates to pray for those suffering [4]. This duty extends to sympathizing with them (Romans 12:15), pitying them (Job 6:14), bearing them in mind (Hebrews 13:3), visiting them (James 1:27), comforting them (2 Corinthians 1:4), and relieving them (Philippians 4:14) [4].
The practice of prayer itself, as modeled by Jesus in the Lord's Prayer, is characterized by simplicity and a focus on God's holiness and will [6]. While Jewish tradition rarely addressed God as "Father," Jesus consistently did so, except in one instance [6]. The Lord's Prayer serves as a model for believers, contrasting with "vain repetition" [6].
Sources
- 3 John “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers. -- 3 John 1:2”
- III John “III John 1:2 (BBE) — My loved one, it is my prayer that you may do well in all things, and be healthy in body, even as your soul does well.”
- James “James 5:15 (BSB) — And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Afflicted, Duty Toward The — To pray for them -- Ac 12:5; Php 1:16,19; Jas 5:14-16. To sympathise with them -- Ro 12:15; Ga 6:2. To pity them -- Job 6:14. To bear them in mind -- Heb 13:3. To visit them -- Jas 1:27. To comfort them -- Job 16:5; 29:25; 2Co 1:4; 1Th 4:18. To relieve them -- Job 31:19,20; Isa 58:10; Php 4:14; 1Ti 5:10. To protect them -- Ps 82:3; Pr 22:22; 31:5.”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Sickness — Sent by God -- De 28:59-61; 32:39; 2Sa 12:15; Ac 12:23. The devil sometimes permitted to inflict -- Job 2:6,7; Lu 9:39; 13:16. Often brought on by intemperance -- Ho 7:5. Often sent as a punishment of sin -- Le 26:14-16; 2Ch 21:12-15; 1Co 11:30. One of God's four sore judgments on a guilty land -- Eze 14:19-21. God Promises to heal. -- Ex 23:25; 2Ki 20:5. Heals. -- De 32:39; Ps 103:3; Isa 38:5,9. Exhibits his mercy in healing. -- Php 2:27. Exhibits his power in healing. -- Lu 5:17. Exhibits his love in healing. -- Isa 38:17. Often manifests saving grace to”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 6:9: 6:9-13 The Lord’s Prayer is similar in form to a common Jewish prayer (the qaddish). Jesus gave this prayer to his followers as a succinct expression of their new faith. 6:9 Pray like this: In contrast to the vain repetition of pagan prayers (6:7-8), “the Lord’s Prayer” is a model of simplicity. • Jews rarely addressed God as Father, but Jesus did so in every prayer but one (Mark 15:34). • may your name be kept holy: God’s name is profaned by the sin of his people (Isa 29:22-24; Jer 34:15-16; Ezek 39:7; Amos 2:7).”
- James (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on James 5:15: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,.... That is, the prayer of the elders, being put up in faith by them, and in which the sick person joins by faith; such a prayer is a means of bringing down from God a blessing on the sick man, and of restoring him to his former health: and the Lord shall raise him up; from his bed of sickness, on which he is laid, and bring him forth to praise his name, and to fear and glorify him. And if he have committed sins; not that it is a question whether he has or not, for no man lives without sin, nor the commission of it; but ”
- James (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on James 5:15: And the prayer of faith; shall save the sick - That is, God will often make these the means of a sick man's recovery; but there often are cases where faith and prayer are both ineffectual, because God sees it will be prejudicial to the patient's salvation to be restored; and therefore all faith and prayer on such occasions should be exerted on this ground: "If it be most for thy glory, and the eternal good of this man's soul, let him be restored; if otherwise, Lord, pardon, purify him, and take him to thy glory." The Lord shall raise him up - Not the elders, how fait”