How to Pray for the Sick by Rev Fred G Abeysekera

15th June 2013, Saturday

Today, I attended the Family Blessing meeting at the Jesus Calls Prayer Tower, Midview City, Bishan. The service was led by Rev Fred G Abeysekera, a mighty man of God, in his eighties, strong and passionate in serving God.

He shared the sermon on how to pray for the sick by quoting 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.

If anyone is sick, they should call for the elders of the Church or the Pastors or the Christians for the healing. He did mention there is nothing wrong in consulting doctors. But before praying for healing, we must first preach repentance. That’s how the disciples did. They first preached repentance and then cast out devils and sickness.

Mark 6:7 

7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;  12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

The oil symbolizes the Presence of God, the Power of Holy Spirit. The first and most important to bring healing is a prayer life that builds our faith and the second is the Anointing of God. The healing comes through the Anointing. He stressed, when God anoints our life, we must work for the Glory of God and not simply feel good about experiencing the Anointing.

In order to experience the healing, we must have Faith in God that connects us to God. The Word of God mentions that when we confess our sins, the physical healing is released.

After preaching about healing, Rev Fred Abeysekera mentioned the criteria for choosing a leader. In the book of Acts 6:3 -7, we read Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: 6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

The criteria for choosing Stephen was that he was a man full of Faith and Holy Spirit. This should be the criteria for choosing leaders in the Church.

He stressed that we must not stay as a believer but we must become a disciple of Christ. That should be the goal, which can be achieved, only by reading the Word of God, Praying daily, fellowship with Saints, attending Church and Prayer meetings regularly.

Finally, with the chorus “He is Lord, He is Lord”, people came forward for prayers and he applied oil, praying for their needs to be met. It was an awesome time.

Praise God for a wonderful time 🙂