The Doctrine of Anointing

Scripture passages - James 5:13-16
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is 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: 15 And 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. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Doctrine - purpose and role of sickness - 2 Cor 12:7-10
Some diseases are for the glory of God. Others are the work of the enemy and some are just the normal process of living in this world. I do not encourage people to ask God to heal them of bad breath, gray hair, baldness, common colds, cavities, or old age. Some things are meant to be dealt with by personal hygiene. The doctrine being proposed by James is not a cure-all for everything that ails you. Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach and his oft infirmities. Infirmities are weaknesses. God has also given us medicines both natural and synthetic to address the common needs of the body. What James seems to have in mind are those unresponsive sicknesses that are beyond medicine and life-threatening or debilitating.

Discernment - 1 Cor. 11:30 / Hebrews 12:5-11
Diseases are not just caused by germs and viruses. Some diseases are spiritual in nature and origin. Some diseases are caused by the Lord’s chastisement. We would be wise to ask questions of the spiritual state of the person seeking healing such as, "Is there any thing in your life that will keep the Lord from hearing your prayer and healing you?" We would never want to pretend that we are trusting God for someone’s disease when in fact God it is God’s way of dealing with the person in question and trying to back to himself. The elder or pastor should not be hasty to lay hands on anyone. Discern the situation as much as possible then pray. The gift of discernment needs to be operative when dealing with stubborn diseases. Elders should rely on each others gifts in this discerning process. If you feel a "check" in your spirit you should say so and pursue the reason.

Prayer of Faith - Hebrews 11:6 / Mark 5:25-34 "hem of his garment"
The prayer of faith is not an indiscriminate "name it and claim it" exercise. Faith is not presumption, pretense or supposition. True faith is a gift from God. The faith talked about in the passage is not just your faith but the faith of the one seeking God’s touch. The woman with the hemorrhage had the faith to be healed. She pursued Jesus. The sick person needs to be the pursuer of the Lord. The hem of his garment is not far but it takes effort to reach out and touch it. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Therefore we should encourage the person with God’s word and His promises but also encourage the person to seek the Lord in His word. God may want to do more than just heal this body. He may want to heal the broken spirit, the unforgiving spirit, the disobedient will, the angry soul, or the disturbed mind, or some sinful habit.

Some Questions:


Does God heal today?
Does God always heal?
When will he not heal?
Does anointing guarantee healing?
Does God heal without anointing?
Why anoint? James 5:13-16
Why call for the elders?
Why elders and not deacons?
Why oil and not water?
What is a prayer of faith?
What next after the prayer?
Why does God heal some, and others not?