In review of James 5:16 it says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.”
Bottom Line:
Confess your sins to one another and pray for each other, so God can heal you. The prayer of a good person has great power.
What this means to me:
I am to get with someone else I can trust to be honest with me. We are to confess our struggles and pray for each other. Our prayers for each other can have a wonderful effect.
A person won’t go to war by themselves. If they did, it would be a suicide mission. There is a need for someone to have your back. You’d need a battle buddy, platoon or posse.
The same notion is true in the spiritual battles I face. I can’t go to war against lustful thoughts, dishonesty, addictions, and fear by myself. I’ll be doomed to fail.
If all I want is to be forgiven, I can admit my sin and brokenness to God. However, what I’m learning is that, If I want to make a lasting change, I need to admit it to someone else.
Revealing my sin is the beginning of healing. I don’t need to admit my sin to everyone. But I do need to admit it to someone. I need one person who’ll love me unconditionally, accept me completely, and pray for me constantly. I need someone of the same gender to be open and honest with.
Today’s verse in James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen” (NCV).
When I confess my sins to someone else, I in a sense, open the relief valve and take the pressure off. Suddenly, the big issue isn’t so big.
Often sin is a cycle. I start out humbly asking God for help, so he gives me the power to make it. After about six months of success, I can start to get prideful. Then, I fall, and in humility again, I ask God for help. If I could stay in that spirit of humility, I’d be good. But pride always returns.
I can’t kick that kind of cycle without friends who’ll pray, care, encourage, and keep me on track. When success comes, they’ll help me keep my perspective so my humility can stay in check.
Because of this need, a local congregation or church of fellow believers is really important. However, I can attend a church for years and never put myself in a situation where I know others and are known by them. I need to make the effort to get with some guys in which I can be completely open and honest.
To think I can quit a bad habit without being honest about it with others is simply a cop out. It never works.
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