There are a lot of pastors who dip their finger in some holy oil and then lay hands on people. This oil is sold and advertised on TV. The Bible says we have to pray and heal the sick in the name of Jesus only. When the use of oil is questioned, these pastors answer by saying in the book of James 5:14 we are instructed to lay hands on the sick and anoint them with oil. Is this verse being applied correctly? Does the usage of oil in this verse have supernatural effect or medicinal effect?

Was Jesus’ half-brother, James, one of the original 12 apostles? Paul mentions James in Galatians 1 as being an established apostle early on in Paul’s ministry; but which James is he in the list of the original 12 if indeed he was one of them?

Here’s another follow-up to “OSAS And Unanswered Prayer.”

You listed four things that you believe can prevent believers from being delivered from their afflictions, putting a very fine point on the issue:

1. Lack of faith, 2. Unconfessed sins, 3. Subconscious feelings that we deserve to be afflicted, 4. Secret desire to remain where we are.

My questions are these:

1. If we have a subconscious feeling that we deserve to be afflicted, does God hold this against us? (if so, why?). Your answer seems to imply this.

2. If we are held responsible for things of which we are not conscious, how do we recognize this and “repent” of it?

This is a very serious set of questions for me as I am very introspective, know I cannot fully understand what’s going on inside me, so it would seem that I am doomed to a life of (mostly) unanswered prayer.

Thank you for this opportunity to ask you questions, I value your wisdom.

My question is: There is a teaching that on some buildings and land there are curses because of the activities that have been carried out on the site, and these must be lifted by ‘spiritual warfare’ type prayer (applying the blood of Jesus etc). What is the Biblical position on this for New Covenant believers? Thank you.

If the Bible says in John 9:31 that Gods does not hear sinners then where does it say that He hears our prayer for forgiveness and acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior?

As a follow up to ‘Still Saved After Denying The Lord’, I have a question for you.

A friend of mine, once a very loving and dedicated Christian, has over the past several years gone through many traumas in her life. Having thrown herself on God’s mercy and spent many hours in prayer, she has received no solution to her problems. For example, she has prayed constantly that the Lord would bring peace to the heart of her mother -also a Christian- who is suffering from dementia and is living in a confused and tortured state literally trapped inside her own body. These prayers have not been answered.

She now believes in her heart that God can not exist and that Jesus was just a good man who was crucified along with countless others.

Where Peter, understandably, denied the Lord out of fear, this lady has made a conscious decision that God is not real – not out of bitterness but by deliberation. What happens to her Salvation?

In about 1980 everything seemed to be falling apart around me. Sitting alone in my living room, I prayed a silent prayer to God/Jesus for salvation and guidance. Do you think God recognizes and accepts silent prayer for his saving grace, or at any other time when one prays?

I have a question I have needed to be answered for a very long time. I can’t even get a straight answer from my own pastor. I believe in Christ’s finished work at the cross. I know that behavior cannot change our salvation.

However, if someone accepts Christ and is baptized as a young person, then loses faith and denies the existence of God, what then? I get different arguments from people on this. I have heard, “Once saved always saved” and I’ve heard that denying the Lord is unforgivable. Please help me settle this. I lose sleep over this for my dear family members.

Why do Orthodox Jews nod when they pray at the wailing wall or reading the scripture?

Hello! Thank you for your website and your insightful views on things.

Can you tell me please what you think of 1 John 5:16-17? What do you think the sin is, that leads to eternal death? And is he implying that we shouldn’t bother to pray for the brother or sister who is committing this “unforgivable” sin?