Prayer for one another is essential for healing, as demonstrated by biblical examples. Abraham prayed for his nephew Lot, leading to his deliverance from Sodom. Moses prayed for his sister Miriam when she was afflicted with leprosy, resulting in her healing. Samuel, despite being sidelined by the younger generation, continued to pray for his people, emphasizing the importance of intercession even when feeling unappreciated. Job prayed for his slanderous friends, leading to his restoration. Jesus prayed for Peter, that his faith would not fail, and also prayed for his persecutors from the cross, demonstrating the ultimate act of intercessory love. These instances highlight that prayer for others, even those who have wronged us, brings healing and deliverance.
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in the directing of the singing. That was simply splendid. Now I want to ask you to turn to the epistle of Paul, the epistle of James. The fifth chapter of James' epistle. And I want to read one verse. Verse sixteen. Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that he may be he. Now, of course, the context of this particular verse is such as could give to us materials or discussions for the whole of the time at my disposal.
I am not going to occupy the time in that manner, excepting that I will throw out a hint. that I trust will be helpful with regard to the particular passage touching the sick calling the elders of the church and they praying over him having anointed him with oil. We must remember that the Epistle of James is the earliest, in all likelihood, the earliest of all New Testament writings, certainly earlier than those of Paul. and we were considering this afternoon Paul's earliest recorded writings.
In those days, that letter being addressed to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, Christians amongst the Jewish community would find themselves in the event of sickness in a very awkward situation. No Jewish doctor who was not a Christian would ever have anything to do with a Jewish Christian. He would regard such person as utterly ostracized from his nation. And on the other hand, no believing Jew could ever go to a pagan witch doctor. And therefore he was between the two difficulties.
He could not go for medical help to a Jewish doctor. He would refuse to help him he dare not go to a Gentile pagan which stopped her. What then was he to do in the temporary circumstances in which he was found? Here was a temporary provision made for those conditions that then existed. Call the elders of the church, let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil. that is having used what simple means were available to them at that time. And the prayer of faith would heal the sick and the Lord would raise a mark.
It looks as though the context of the very section has to do with sin that has brought about physical disease and trouble. And therefore the verse that we have read together confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that he may be healed. That healing, of course, in the context, is physical healing. But I want to regard it this evening as generally spiritual healing. For where sin is in the life of the Christian, oftentimes it may result in physical disease, sometimes and indeed always it results in a spiritual condition that needs healing.
Pray for one another. Now, as I said, I think last evening, I was indebted to our brother, Mr. Phillips, for the line of ministry that I gave last evening, he having given me the hint on the Sunday evening. I'm indebted to him for this line of ministry, he having given me the hint when he almost finished off his address, that excellent address on the life and experiences of Job. You may remember that he said, that God said to Job, now you are in a very bad way.
Your health has been very much undermined. But I am going to ask you to do something that is very difficult. And if you will do what I'm going to ask you to do, you will get restoration. What was that? He was to pray for his three friends. The three friends that had so slandered him and so aggravated his trouble. He did it and the happy result ensued. He prayed for him and he was healed. Therefore, here is our passage. Pray for one another that ye may be healed.
Will you turn back with me to the book of Genesis, and we will have a serious study this evening, and that will be our general title. I want to ask you to turn to Genesis chapter nineteen. And before I read the verse that I have in mind, May I give to you a little resume of the chapters that have preceded Genesis chapter nineteen. They have to do with Abraham and Lot. And you may remember that Abraham took Lot with him, but soon there was a dispute between the servants of Abraham and the servants of Lot.
and Abram very wisely said, well, it is far, far better for us to pass than to quarrel. The Canaanites and the Terracites are in the land, and they will be looking on. And if they see quarreling in our tents, whatever will they think. I think we need to learn a lesson from that. I believe that our brethren that have preceded us who have been in ecclesiastical strife, doctrinal strife, have they known the effects upon the Canaanite and the Perisite, as they known the effects upon unconverted people, they might have behaved differently.
However, they are gone. We are here to learn the lesson, that we must not quarrel amongst ourselves, because the worldly will observe and they will misunderstand even the cause of the quarrel, and they will say, well, if they call themselves Christians, and they go on like that, I don't want anything to do with their Christianity. However, they parted, and Locke used the sight of his eyes, and he chose according to the observation of the land, for he had been taken down to eat it. and he saw that the land that he wanted was like Egypt, and so he pitched his tent towards Sodom.
Later on he dwelt in Sodom. Later on he is so advanced in administrating affairs that he sat in the gate of Sodom, and his righteous soul, for he was a righteous man, was beset by the filthy behavior of the wicked, the cases of which came to him for adjudication day by day. Outside of that city and altogether unknown to him, Abraham was having communion with God. And God was telling Abraham something like this. You know those cities where your nephew Lot has gone to live?
They are simply hopeless. I can't do anything with them. Their corruption and their sin is such as is unspeakable. Although the sin of Sodom and Sodom-E, as we have come to know it, is a sin that is very common nowadays, at least in the land from which I come, and it may well be in your own land. And God has said to Abraham, I am going to destroy all these cities of the place. I pledged that I would not destroy the world by water again, that I shall destroy these cities by fire."
Neblem began to think his nephew was there, his nephew's wife was there, his nephew's children was there, and he threaded the idea that so near relationships as those of which he was uncle, that they should be consumed in the fire that was going to come down on the plane. So you will read in chapter eighteen words like these that Sir Abram leads to God. Oh God, if you can sign fifty righteous, will you destroy it first? No, I can't. If I sign fifty, I won't give, I won't destroy it.
He comes down to forty. He comes down to thirty. He comes down to twenty. He comes down to ten. And then he stops. So the sad, sad thing is that apparently Lot had made no conversions and turned none of the inhabitants of that city to God or of those cities to God. And the day came when the messengers came to the city and intended to destroy the city by fire. And Lot and his family were in the city. You may read Genesis chapter nineteen to know how that the Lord delivered Lot and his wife and his two daughters by forcibly bringing the mouth of the city.
But this is what you read in verse twenty nine of Genesis nineteen. It came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the plains. that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the city in the which Lot dwelt. So that God remembered Abraham, who remembered his prayer, and Abraham had prayed on behalf of his nephew. and his nebulous wife and daughters and children for that matter of fact.
And the Lord remembered Abraham and he delivered lots. He listened to his prayers and Abraham prayed for his nebulous and his nebulous got the deliverance despite the fact that he did not deserve. I wonder whether any one of us has a near religion. or other relationships that you may be able to integrate in your own direction. And you know that these relations of yours have fast flittance, and they've gone into the world. And while it may be that they've not gone into the waves of the world, they haven't lived a life of faith.
They have not only pitched their tent towards Sodom, But they've gone into Sodom, and they got on very well in Sodom. They may hold a very big and important post. They may be in a very godless situation, and their soul may have been damaged by reason of the position in which they are. And you have prayed for them, and prayed for them. because you envisage that there will come a spiritual calamity in their life unless the Lord intervenes and takes them out of the place in which they are. Don't give up saying, but remember now that you said right at the beginning, pray for one another that they may be healed, that you may be healed, and Abraham prayed for his nephew, and the result was his nephew lost.
and the wife and the two daughters were taken out of the city and were not consumed by the flames, though there is a sad story about Lot's wife and the Lord said, remember, Lot's wife. So Eaglin prayed for his living. Let me ask you to turn now to Numbers chapter twelve. Numbers chapter twelve. I shall read most of this chapter because I want to make comments upon it. And Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married.
For he had married an Ethiopian woman. Notice that the words are Miriam and Aaron. Miriam is the leader in this rebellion. And she uses a stick, for any stick is useful if you wish to be spiteful against any one of God's servants. She uses the stick of the fact that Moses had married this Ethiopian woman. As far as I am aware, he had not broken any divine injunction at this point, for it had not been given so far as I can understand. It was not a case of disobedience. but it was simply a case of a sister, not liking her sister-in-law.
And there have been many such cases as that, where the sister may be very loyal to her brother, but utterly dislike the sister-in-law. And so she stirs up trouble. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Has he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was very meet above all men which were upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said suddenly unto Moses and unto Aaron and unto Miriam, please note the order.
He spoke suddenly unto the three of them. Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. and they three came out. And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood at the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam. He put Aaron first, Miriam second. And they both came forth. And he says, Hear now my word. If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision. And I will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in the dark speeches. And the similitude of the Lord shall he behold. Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? If I read between the lines correctly, the situation was this. that Miriam was the one who stirred up the trouble. And Miriam said virtually to Aaron, You know, after all, Moses is younger than the three of us. And Moses forgets that he was indebted to you for getting him into the king's palace.
After all, why should he be the leader? Besides, look at his sister-in-law. You don't like her, and I don't like her. And so he spoke, and they spoke, though she was the leader against the servant of the Lord, my servant. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. And the cloud departed from the of the tabernacle. And behold, Miriam became a leperous white of snow. An errand looked upon Miriam. And behold, she was leperous. and said unto Moses, O alas, my Lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed, when he commits out of his mother's womb. And let us stop there for a minute. As I said that in Genesis chapter nineteen, Abram prayed for his nephew, We've got to say with regard to this chapter twelve of the book of Numbers that Moses prayed for his sister. Moses might well have said something like this. I admit that I'm the youngest of the three. It wasn't my fault that I had the royal training in the palace of Egypt. I'm very grateful for what my elder sister did for me, but then I was only a tiny baby, and I had no responsibility in such a matter as that.
Besides, when I've grown up to manhood, I don't forfeit my individuality, and I have the right of choice as to what girl I shall marry. And if they don't like the girl that I shall marry, well, they must slump it and put up with it. and that regard to my leading the people of God, God well enough knows that I didn't want to do it, and that I told God that I couldn't speak, and that I had other deficiencies of qualities that rendered me the last person in the world that he should choose. But he chose me, so it wasn't my choice. Why ever did they seek against me?
I'm very glad that the Lord has intervened and has vindicated me. And there's my sister, I'm very sorry that she's been made leprous, but I hope she'll learn her lesson and keep her tongue in its place and not say what she ought to say. Because if she got away with it, all the other women would get away with it. And we should be in a dreadful mess, such as was envisaged in the days of the Vogue of Vesta. I'm very glad that she's in this condition and I shall leave her to the Lord and I hope that she and every other woman learns her lesson and I hope Aaron will learn his lesson as well. I'll do nothing about it.
But he didn't take up that attitude. If Abraham prayed for his nephew, Moses prayed for his sister and this is what he said in verse thirteen. Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. I can't bear to see my sister in this state. I know she was at fault. I know she was at length. I know the thing that she did was very serious. But, oh God, heal her, and don't delay it. Heal her now, I pray thee, O God. And were you to meet that in the Hebrew language, you would see how intense was the prayer that Moses lifted up to God on behalf of his sister.
And the Lord said to Moses, If her father was but sit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days, and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. For you see, still in the camp, not only adversity affects those that are directly concerned, but it holds up the whole company, and it delays the purposes of God with regard to his people in general.
So in Genesis nineteen, Abram pray for his nebulous. In Numbers chapter twelve, Moses pray for his sister. In all likelihood, we all have nebulous, at least the younger ones, haven't, but they'll get them later on. And it may be that some of your nebulous will disappoint you. In all likelihood, we all have sisters. and our sisters can be spiteful, and we can be spiteful, and not saying the sisters characteristically are spiteful, but our natural sisters may be spiteful. How do you react to it?
Do you do what is here done? You pray for your sister. Pray for one another that you may be healed, and this sister was healed, because her brother, who had been injured by her, Pray, Father. I want to ask you now to turn to the first of Samuel chapter twelve. The first of Samuel chapter twelve. And that has to do with older brethren, older men. I look round on the company and I see some bald heads, but that doesn't always indicate age. That I look round on the company and I see some bald heads with grey hair.
And that does indicate age. And we are living in a day when the younger people are asked to put the older people at a discount. You know, they belong to another generation. They're old passions. They're not with it. They are, well, what can you expect? They're old. You can't expect them to keep up with the young ones. You have to just count them out. Count them out in the assembly. Count them out everywhere. All right, let us read now first of Samuel chapter twelve. And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have fastened unto your voice in all that you said unto me, and have made a king over you.
And now behold, the king walketh before you. And I am old and gray-headed. And behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my youth unto this day.Behold, here I am, witness against me before the Lord and before his anointing, whose ox have I taken, or whose ass have I taken, or whom have I destroyed, whom have I oppressed, or of whose hand have I received any bride to blind mine eyes therewith. And I will restore it. And they said, Thou hast not this fraudiness, nor the fleshless, neither hast thou taken off of any man's hand.
And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found off in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. Now put yourself in the position of Samuel. He's an old man. And the people of Israel have said, look, we want a young man to leave us. And you're out of jail. You're an old man. So we want you to appoint a young man who can go out with us to battle. You remember the story how they found a man, head and shoulders above everyone else. And they chose King Saul.
And Samuel healed him. They want the young men. And they've known them for the old men. And yet I've really done my best all my long life in serving them. And this is all the thanks that I get from them. They say, thank you. We don't want you. We want the young men. So we ask them. When our children, have you got anything against me? Have I ever accepted a bribe? Have I ever behaved dishonorably? Have I ever acted with prejudice? No, no, no, no, we haven't a complaint against you.
But the fact of the matter is you can't hold the wheels of time and you've got an old man and we want a young man. And thank you for giving us the young man and you can please stand on one side. Very hurtful for an old man. I quite agree with you that sometimes old men hang on to their duties or their actions or offices far too long and they should hand them over to younger people who can do them more efficiently. And I'm thinking of deeper things than that. Nowadays the younger generation are depriving the older generation. And the oldest generation are feeling it that they're bank numbers and that they're not wanting it.
and that their voice is not heeded, and there was no account. This is what Moses and the Samuel says. So at the end of the chapter that I want to ask you to read with me now, verse twenty-two, for the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great namesake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people unto himself. Moreover, As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in teaching to pray for you. When I will teach you the good and the right way, only hear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great things he has done for you.
But if you still do wickedly, you will be consumed both you and your kids. And without going into all the details of this very instructive wealth chapter, it boils down to this, that the old man Samuel, who had for years and decades served faithfully the people of God, was now ousted because the younger generation wanted a young man. The younger generation got the man that they wanted, only ultimately to regret the man that they had chosen. And the old faithful Samuel had to take a back seat and had to stand on one side.
And he virtually said, they may stop me from doing this, and they may stop me from doing that, but they will never, never stop me from praying for them. God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in teaching to pray for you. And I'll teach you as opportunity afforded and as you are willing to listen, that you can't stop me from praying for you. So Abraham prayed for his nephew, and Moses prayed for his sister, and Samuel prayed for his people. You, dear old brethren, and I am among you, If you feel that you have been set on one side by the younger ones, don't be unduly chased about it, but pray for them.
It will work wonders. It will heal them, and it will heal you. Now we come to the book of Job, for I told you that this was stirred up in my mind by what our good brother Philip said. And I need not turn you to it because he gave to us such an exhaustive and valuable thesis on this book. So let me just boil it down into one or two words. Job was a man who was walking before God without name. Have you considered my certain Job? Don't misunderstand me when I say that all the trouble in the book of Job was stirred up by God.
It wasn't stirred up by Satan. It was stirred up by God. God said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? I've got nobody like him and all the earth. Ah, yes. Of course, he serves you for what he gets. But if you take away from him what he's got and the material advantages that he has, then you'll see the real Job. All right, say God to Satan. You go ahead. Take away what he's got and we'll see. He took away his possessions, but in all this joke sin not with his lips. So God re-challenged the devil. Now then, if you considered my certain joke now, you've done that to him and you know that he hasn't sinned against me with his lips.
Oh, that's easy to be understood. You touch him. And if you touch him, you'll soon discover that what is in the bottle, to use the words of Mr. Phillips, For as his gods go ahead and touch him, and the devil not only had robbed him of his family and his thoughts and his thoughts, but now he robbed him of his health. He didn't touch his wife. He found Eve very useful in the Garden of Eden. He'll find Job's wife very useful in these circumstances. So she said to him, Why don't you curse God and die and have done with it?
You talk like one of the foolish women. Shall we not receive good from the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil? The Lord gave the Lord, take it away. Blessed be the name of the Lord, and in all that joke didn't sin against the Lord with his lips. Mr. Phillips told you about the friends coming along and sitting for seven days and not saying a word. That must have reacted very unfavorably upon Job's spirit. Surely they've got something they can say. However, for seven days they were so appalled at his prophetic state, they didn't say a word.
Then they started to speak. And the gist of what they said was this. You know, Job, you're very puzzled as to why all this has come upon you. We're not puzzled, don't we? Look at us, please. Nothing has happened to us. We are fully healthy men. Our poverty has remained intact. Our families are all as we would wish them to be. No calamities have come upon us. The fact of the matter is, God must know that there's something in your life, Job, that has caused all this. And you'd better open your mouth and make a clean breast of it. You see, we're righteous, and you're unrighteous.
And the gist of the conversation that went on between those three alleged friends and Job was just that all the way through. And God was very angry because they condemned Job without proof. And they didn't just decide God. And then God came along, as you were reminded by Mr. Gillette, and God gave to him a series of questions that he couldn't answer. And then at length, He said something like this, said George. Now, Job, I have heard your admission. You say, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine I see of thee, and I repent in Dr.
Nash's that I have ever said what I have said. All right, Lord. These other men have made accusations against you that are not true. I'm going to ask you, and this is Mr. Phillips' words, and would have been my words without Mr. Phillips, I'm going to ask you to do a very hard thing. Those men have slandered you. Call them friends. Miserable comforters are they. They are no friends. They are slandered. But I'm going to ask you to pray for them. That's a hard thing to do. Pray for your enemies and pray for those that have slandered you.
And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his free friend. And he was delivered out of the hand of the enemy. And his health was recovered. And his property was recovered. And his family was restored. And their job was healed because he prayed for his free friend. Pray for one another that you may be healed. And if you've got a nephew, three like Abrams, if that nephew is a backslider than worldly and will not heed divine things, well, pray for them. And the Lord will remember your prayer and work the deliverance for your nephew or any other near relation.
If you have a sister who slanders you, or anyone else of that matter who slanders you, and doesn't like the domestic arrangements that exist in your family. Well, don't resort to spiteful words, but be like Moses. Pray for your sister. And indeed, if you are amongst the elder ones and you feel that you've been pushed on one side, don't entertain a grudge against the younger ones. Pray for them. God forbid that you should cease sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for them. Or if you are like Job and you have some alleged friends who are miserable comforters, pray for them.
Pray for one another that you may be healed. Let me ask you to turn to your New Testament. Luke chapter twenty-two. The twenty-second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. I want you to read with me a few verses in this chapter. Namely, verse thirty-one, Luke twenty-two. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may shift you a sweet. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith failed us.
And when once thou hast been turned or converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. And he said, I tell thee Peter, the clock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt deny, that thou, shalt Christ deny, that thou knowest me. And here is our blessed Lord. anticipating of something that he knows that will happen. The story of Peter is so oftentimes been told that I don't want unduly to dwell on the mistakes of Peter.
I'd rather suspect that when I get to heaven, if Peter were given the opportunity, he would make a far, far better job on talking on my mistakes. But God has recorded his mistakes for our instructions. He have said amongst the disciples, I know, Lord, you said that we shall all deny it. But I want you to understand, you can bank upon me. I'm willing to go to prison. I'm willing to go to death for you. If they're all denying it, I won't deny it. Simon, Simon. He uses the word Simon, his natural name, to remind him of his natural weaknesses.
He uses it twice in a duplicate of emphasis. Simon, Simon. Satan has already put in a request to me that he wants to have you. You all, for it's a plural all. He wants all of you, the whole of the apostles, that we may sift all of you like we. That I know the one that will go through the sift. I know the one that will say it. It's you, Simon. It's you. And you will deny me thrice that you know me. But I pray for thee.
Or the word is, I've made this supplication for thee. That although your courage may say it, I'm praying that your face may not say it. You know the story of how he denied the Lord before the girl and mother, sitting there in the darkness of the night in the cold atmosphere, for this world is both cold and dark. He was silhouetted by the light of a fire and the girl's potting. You're one of them. No, no, no, I don't know him. I don't know him. And the roads and church's feet are indeed denied that he knew it.
Then the cross grew. And the Lord, who was before his accuser, not thinking of himself, he turned. He looked on Peter. And Peter went over and wept bitterly. Peter's face hadn't given way. The tears proved that. Peter's courage had failed. And the denials proved that. But our blessed Lord Jesus, in that moment, when he was feeling the pressure of things far greater than ever, and he was on trial for his life, he prayed for his apostles.
I have one other item, one other item with which you are very well acquainted. You've only got to turn one page of your Bible, Luke chapter twenty three. And verse thirty-two. There were also two others, comma, malifactors. Do please be careful in reading your Bible. Don't read it and there were two other malifactors. That would have made the Lord Jesus a malifactor. But there were two other, comma, malifactors, comma. led with him to be put to death. And when they would come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the manufacturers, one on the right hand, and the other on the next.
And before we read on, use a little sanctified imagination to see what was going on. On that hill, three trotches, hold made in the ground where those crosses could be dropped. The individual being nailed to the cross, the nails through the hands, the nails through the feet, and bound to the cross. And as they were doing that, what would you think either one of the manufacturers would have said? I imagine every oath and every curse that they could possibly think of would have been wrenched from their mouth to think that their fellow creatures were so inhuman as to treat them in distress.
But what about the middle man? We read now verse thirty-four. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing. You see, what they are doing is, what they were doing is crucified. Father, forgiveness! They don't know what they are doing. That cry must have been heard, and the Lord Jesus enacted what he himself enjoined upon his apostles and disciples earlier. Pray for your enemies. Pray for them that persecutes you.
And here are our wretched Lord Jesus. was offering up that prayer, which was so pensively honest, for in resurrection he commissioned his apostles and others to go into all the world and proclaim the forgiveness of sin for anyone and everyone upon faith in the crucified Savior. So as I finished this talk, I summarized it in this session. The Epistle of James enjoins us to pray for one another that we may be healed. Abram prayed for his nephew.
Moses prayed for his sister. Samuel prayed for his people. James, Joe prayed for his family. The Lord Jesus prayed for his apostles. The Lord Jesus prayed for his persecution. And they all got the benefit through the prayer that was offered. And Lot was delivered. And the Moses' sister was healed. And the nation of Israel undoubtedly reached the benefit of the prayers and the instruction of the old man Samuel. And Job was delivered out of the hand of his captors.
And the Lord himself. It has been the recovery for his apostle Peter, who wrote his letter to strengthen his brethren. And you and I, amongst the earth's wild enemies, have received his forgiveness. Pray, therefore, brethren.