James 5:16
James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
This is a command that we often avoid because it can make us uncomfortable, and we don't know how to get started. Confessing faults and sins to each other can be challenging. No matter, if it is to a pastor, to a family member, or to a friend, confessing our sins, makes us feel vulnerable and ashamed, and it is never easy for us to open up our hearts to others. God wouldn't make us do something just for the sake of it. Everything He asks us to do is for something good! As we confess our sins, we ask others to pray for us so that we can be healed. We must keep the two commands together and not treat them separately. Since we do not have the power to forgive sins, simply confessing our sins to each other won't lead to healing. There is no mediator between us and God. He is the ultimate judge, and it is only through our Lord, Jesus Christ, that our sins are forgiven. Even though we don't have the power to heal or forgive sins, we can ask for God's power in prayers. Because we have been declared righteous through faith in Jesus, our prayers are powerful and effective! Don't be afraid to confess your sins to others and ask for prayers. If you know someone who struggles with sin, pray for them as well. When we pray fervently, we can have the confidence that God hears us, and He will do powerful things!
Leviticus 26:40
But if they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me.
Psalms 51:4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.
Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Matthew 10:32
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.