Pastor, Elders(pastor & elders get all their sins confessed and restitutions made & get right with God , olive oil, talk to the person, (if there is time & the person is cogent / conscious/ encourage them to confess their fins to Jesus/ read the Scripture admonition in Book of James / anoint the person by dipping the finger and in faith putting the oil on the person's skin, then praying with and for the person, asking God to cleanse away their sins forgive them empower them to obey Him, and asking God to spiritually & physically heal them.
see SOP on praying for someone's healing * admonitions and warnings "not to pray for" "call the elders" ( pray healing )
Pastor, Elders(pastor & elders get all their sins confessed and restitutions made & get right with God), then, go to the person , bring pure olive oil with them, talk to the person, (if there is time & the person is cogent / conscious/ encourage them to confess their fins to Jesus/ read the Scripture admonition in Book of James / anoint the person by dipping the finger and in faith putting the oil on the person's skin, then praying with and for the person, asking God to cleanse away their sins forgive them empower them to obey Him, and asking God to spiritually & physically heal them.
see SOP on praying for someone's healing * admonitions and warnings "not to pray for" "call the elders" ( pray healing )
NB, I have witnessed a spontaneous anointing while living in a developing country. I was visiting the HIV Aids/TB ward with a group of Adventists. One of the leaders called to repentance and anointed (with olive oil) a patient in his bed. The leader and the patient were from the same people group (distant relatives), which possibly permitted the boldness of the action. It was an awe inspiring moment. I felt the imminence of Jesus return for all of us, but especially the patient who was not likely to survive (he was skin and bone).
Prayers and blessings as you approach this important topic.
Thank you for your responses... and that was quite some witness Shireen...
....did some research myself....
this is to be for only life and death situations...
olive oil in a small glass container...
prayers over the patient....
promises from the bible spoken for encouragement...
each elder offers a prayer
anointed with two fingers dipped in oil and placed on the forehead of the patient asking for the anointing
don't expect instant healing as some healings may take time... and they may not recover at all...
as Ed said, there are SOP warnings too... we can't pray for healing if the person is destroying themselves with bad habits, but we can ask for the power for them to put them away
It is my understanding that anointing with oil in Bible times was like the step where they say "Lord, we've done all we know to do to try and help this person get better, but it is out of our hands now. You take him, and heal him". God answers prayers like that, as all the glory returns to God, and not to us humans.
But it seems like today, this step is invoked only when we EXPECT the person to die, and kind of a "Last Rites" ceremony, do it. God gets zero glory, so does zero miracles.
