August 1: Thoughts on James 5:16

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
~ James 5:16

Are you ever afraid to ask for prayer? Afraid that someone will judge you because of a prayer need? That they'll know whatever sin you've committed and not hang out with you anymore, or that they'll spread gossip about you? Yeah, me too.

Because, on some level, we're all a little bit fake (aren't you fake at church, even just a little bit?). It's not on purpose, but we feel that we need to put on a different face when we're around "church people" than we do when we're in the real world. But the truth is that we all live in the real world. Nobody's perfect, no matter how much we try to pretend we are.

But the altar (or the prayer meeting) is a place where we can get past all that fakeness and just come before God and be honest, be who we really are.

"confess your sins to each other"

We only need to confess our sins to God. We don't need someone else to be involved in order for God to forgive our sins. There is only one mediator between people and God, and that's Jesus Christ, but (and this is a big but) confessing to other believers can be helpful in several ways.

First, it breaks the fakeness. When we confess that we've done wrong to a fellow Christian, it sends the message, "Hey, you know what, you're not the only person who struggles with sin." It serves as an encouragement to the other person.

Second, it allows us to get things off our chest. Though God can forgive us, sometimes we benefit from confirmation from other people that God really does forgive us if we confess and repent (1 John 1:9).

It also gives us a little bit of extra accountability, because our friends who pray for us know what kind of sins we are susceptible to and thus they can help us stay away from temptation and pray for us more effectively.

"pray for each other so that you may be healed"

Do you believe God still heals? I do. If God can create our bodies, He can certainly set them back into working order. If he made the four chambers of our heart, He can comfort us in our emotional pain. If He can send His Son to die for us, He can heal us from the stain of sin.

In His time here on earth, Jesus healed a blind man (Mark 8:25), a woman with an issue of blood (Matthew 9:22), lepers (Luke 17:11-19), and people with paralysis (Mark 2:5; Matthew 8:13), just to name a few. The Bible tells us God doesn't play favorites (Acts 10:34, The Message), so if He healed those people, He can heal us too, if we believe He can.

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

But, you say, I'm not righteous! Not on your own, you're not, but through the obedience of Jesus unto death, we are made righteous (Romans 5:19).

So, as people made righteous through Christ's obedience, our prayers are powerful and effective. Powerful means "having or exerting great power or force." Our prayers exert our power over the Enemy. Effective means "adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result." Our prayers accomplish what we set them out to accomplish.

Prayer is a wonderful gift to us from God, and it is a gift whose worth is multiplied when we pray with others. As a church body, we exist to win the lost and build one another up. One of the best tools we have to grow closer to one another is prayer.

Father in the Name of Jesus, please bless the reader of this blog. Show them that You love them, that you are there and want to take care of them. If they are struggling, just hold them in your arms and be a comfort to them. If they are ill or in danger, protect them, Lord. If they need a friend, help them find a friend, Father. If it is Your will, let that friend be us. If they are broken, help them become whole. If they are weak, help them be strong. If they are alone, be with them, Lord. If they are lost, help them find themselves in You. You know their needs, Lord, and only You can fill them. We thank you for everything that you've given us, for homes and families and jobs, for strong brothers and sisters in Christ, for a church family that shows its love, and most of all for giving Your life only to save ours. We love you, Lord, and we ask that you bless these readers and all those we pray for. We ask it in the Name that is above every other name, the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.