James 1-5

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray foreach other that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

I've often thought about the last half of this verse when I have some huge prayer request that I really want answered in a certain way. But never really kept it connected to the beginning part of the verse. But the lightbulb that clicked on today was that without confessing to and praying for one another I cannot be the righteous man whose prayers are powerful or effective.

Though not by an overt sermon emphasis, there seems to be a trickle of confessing to one another going on at my church recently. Not just necessarily confession of sin. But a willingness to be open, transparent and vulnerable. Yesterday I was prompted to speak to one of the people who had put themself out there, just wanting to thank them and encourage them.

And it was an amazing thing. I shared some of my simular experiences with them. We talked about how much hurt people hide behind their masks. Yet if we were all open and "confessed" our lives to one another it could bring such healing and encouragement to the body of Christ. By such openness we would also have opportunities to pray for one another that otherwise wouldn't happen because we'd all think things were fine.

I so need to throw off the idea that keeping my faults to myself and gaurding my personal space is so imporant. In reality it only hinders my becoming the righteous man I desire to be. I need my brothers and sisters to keep me staight. I need them to know my struggles so they can pray for me. I need to allow them to minister Christ to me and allow me to do the same for them.

I may provide only a few more drops to this trickle of confession and openness. But I have great expectations that it is just the beginnign of something really great. Prepare for a flood of righteousness!