“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” — James 5:16 NKJV

A story was told by a healing minister about a woman he went to pray for in the hospital. He got there, prayed and prayed, yet nothing happened.

He was perplexed. Within himself, he asked the Lord what was wrong. The Lord told him to ask the woman whether she wanted to be healed. The man was shocked — why such a question? Who wouldn’t want to be healed?

He obeyed and asked the woman. She said, truthfully, she did not want to be healed. The minister asked why. She said that ever since she got sick, her husband had been so kind to her — giving her attention he never gave when she wasn’t sick.

This is exactly what many believers are doing with the demonic issues the devil has fired into their lives. Because of the sympathy, attention, and “ohhh sorry,” “eyahhh” that family and others express, they’ve begun to like the sickness that struck them down.

You might even feel in your body that you’re about to fall sick. Instead of rebuking it and affirming your healing, you won’t — because you’re acting like a baby seeking attention.

The first part of our text says, “Confess your sins to one another.” You know that offense is brooding between you and your spouse, yet instead of calling yourselves together to fix it, you let it grow until it becomes something big — something you’ll take to your pastor to settle. You’re being a baby, just seeking attention.

Child of God, grow up.

Stop seeking attention.

Quit behaving like a baby and pray.