PRAYING FOR THE SALVATION OF THE UNCONSCIOUS SICK OR THE DISTANT SICK PERSON. (PART 1).
TEXT:
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death." (1st John 5 verses 16 to 17, King James Version).
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever imagined someone sick unto death, who has probably lost consciousness, who's in a state of coma and you wished you could pray along with him, confessing his sins before he passed on? The problem with such occasions is that you cannot get the sick fellow to respond to your prayers because of the problem of his loss of consciousness. Another instance is where you wished you could pray for someone who's sick unto death but the fellow is beyond your reach because of distance. Such instances and many more are a common occurrence in ministry and as Pastors or Christian workers we are often at a loss as to what to do when we come across such situations. In the series to come, I'm going to address the way out of this predicament.
Undoubtedly, the consciousness of the one being prayed for is of utmost importance when it comes to administering salvation or the confession of sins. So also is the issue of physical contact with the one being prayed for. This is so because at such moments, the impact of prayer on the mind of the recipient cannot be overemphasized. We know that at such times of prayer, convincing impressions are formed in the mind of the one being prayed for, leading to favourable results in such life.
It should be understood that life is in essence spiritual; even so is salvation, healing, prayer, consciousness or distance and what have you. Truth is, everything is spiritual. Until you understand this, the tendency is there for you to be short-changed when it comes to your ability to function effectively in the realm of the spirit. For instance, consider the Lord Jesus. Distance meant nothing to Him when He was here on earth. At His Word, the servant of the Centurion that was sick at a far away distance was healed (Matthew 8 verses 5 to 13). So also was the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman in the Book of Mark chapter 7 verses 25 to 30). She was delivered from demonic oppression at a distance. This is because, as I have said, healing or salvation, etc are spiritual. Truth is, the power and the effectiveness of prayer transcends physical inhibitions like loss of consciousness, distance or what have you.
The Scripture reading for today has been given by the Lord God of salvation to deal effectively with the situations under consideration. When we come to deal with near death occasions in the lives of men, it's obvious that forgiveness of sins becomes a very paramount issue. As we shall see later on, whether the sick person is conscious or not, whether we are faced with the problem of distance or not, the Lord will answer the prayer for the forgiveness of sins offered in faith. The Bible says that "If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death." (1st John 5 verses 16 to 17, King James Version). The crucial provision here is "he shall ask, and he shall give him life".
Given the provisions of the Scripture under consideration, it's soothing and most encouraging to know that as Christians, we've been made "life givers" to them that are lost, even at critical and most difficult moments in their lives (see also John 20 verse 23). Brethren, this is to the praise and the glory of the Lord Who has made it so concerning us! Hallelujah!
PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me the privilege to reconcile the lost to You, even at dire and critical moments of their lives, in Jesus name.