Pray on...

James 5:14-15 (NLT)
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. [15] Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

- This is one of the many verses in the bible that can cause a lot of confusion and pain, for who hasn't prayed and been prayed over, but without healing? Then to make matters worse, some misguided soul will notice the word faith in that admonition, and blame the sick person for not having enough faith. Or someone will heap even more burden onto the sick person by fixating on the part about sin and charge them with something like, "you must have some sin in your life you have not yet repented of..."

This attitude that our illnesses are exclusively the result of sin or lack of faith is refuted by many other scriptures and by our overall experience of life. Often while reading the bible we should simply be prepared to admit that our comprehension is lacking. Perhaps the original context of this passage, if we knew it, would clarify things. Perhaps there is an error in the translation that clouds our understanding.

Whatever the case, there are times to just put our confusion to the side and accept that we don't understand. Should we then keep praying for healing and calling for anointing and help in our need? By all means. Sometimes things are happening that we will never "get" in this life, but that's okay.

It's all just part of the wonder.