Praying for the Sick

"Did you ever complain because your pastor did not visit you when you were sick? Well, did you ask him to come? We have never known a preacher worthy of the name who did not visit those in sickness when they requested his presence. But we have never found authorization for the modern idea that the pastor is supposed to find out who is sick in order to visit them. It is not his job to read the hospital admissions in the paper, or hear them over the radio in order to know who is sick, yet we have known preachers who were blamed for not visiting sick members because “it was in the paper—he should have known about it.” The responsibility (if it can be called such) rests on the individual who is sick, or a member of his family, should he be too sick to seek assistance. What saith the Scriptures? “Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him” (Jas. 5:14)." -- Banner Herald (as reprinted in The Baptist Waymark, Vol. III No. 2, March-April 1995, p. 3)