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.
To confess and be rid of our guilt of sin is to do three things with our sin:
- Recognize sin for what it is in God’s eyes — to confess literally means to call our sin the same thing God does.
- Get rid of our secrets and be honest with another Christian about that sin.
- Receive prayer from a righteous disciple of Jesus and receive forgiveness and healing from that sin.
James’ language is powerful and clear. He wants us not only to experience forgiveness, but he also wants us to be healed from our past sins. Rather than hide, rationalize, dismiss, or ignore our sin, James and his brother Jesus want us to embrace God’s path to full healing. Let’s confess our sins to one another so we can be healed!