During the 1960’s the many outreaches of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association resulted in upwards of one million people coming to Christ annually, year after year. Not just crowds of up to one million, but one million recorded personal decisions. There were also countless thousands of sick and injured people who were healed when Oral Roberts laid his hands on them. Others were set free from evil spirits. One of the NT verses that inspired the evangelist to believe for such results was 3 John 2.
“Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” Many derided the evangelist for making so much out of so little — a major theme from a single verse in a letter of only 14 verses. “Prosperity of soul and body was merely John’s ‘wish’ — not God’s will”, they objected. They had no idea of the energizing power of a revelation.
Was John’s “wish” God’s will? According to scholars of NT Greek, the word “euchomai” means, “to make a wish or to vow”. In 2 Corinthians 13:9 Paul writes, “…what we wish is your perfection.” Here the Greek word is also “euchomai”. Who would doubt that Paul’s prayerful wish was also God’s will in this matter? The “even as” in 3 John 2 makes clear that outer prosperity and health are contingent on inner prosperity — “As your soul prospers”. John’s “wish” (or will) was contingent on their spiritual development. But is not that a well-known and well- accepted biblical theme? Of course it is!
James uses the same Greek word when writing “Confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:16) The word “pray” is the same NT Greek “euchomai”. Was James instructing his countrymen in the benefits of wishful thinking? I don’t think so! But you don’t have to take my word for it because the second sentence in the verse sums up the first: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” So, there you have it.