23.159 | Confessions and Healing | James 5:16-18 | God’s Word for Today with Pastor Nazario Sinon

2023-07-04

Text: James 5:16-18 ESV (16) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. CONFESSIONS AND HEALING It should be the c...

Text: James 5:16-18 ESV

(16) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

CONFESSIONS AND HEALING

It should be the common practice for believers to confess our sins to each other and to pray for each other, so that we may be healed. This is the dynamic of a community that experiences the love of Christ. There is the idea of Christians being in close relationships with each other. They are open and vulnerable with each other. In this loving environment, each could acknowledge to the other what sins are most difficult for them, and all could pray for each other to overcome those sins.

What promotes vulnerability? Definitely, when there is unconditional acceptance, one won’t hesitate to open up his life. A community wherein the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.[1 Cor 12:25b,26] There would not be hypocrisy and pretense but truthfulness. Did not Paul say that love rejoices in the truth, not in falsehood? [1 Cor 13:6] Can you truly love a person wearing a mask?

Where sins are confessed and forgiven, prayers become effective. Sins do make God shun our prayers, don’t they? [Psa 66:18, Isa 59:2] The righteous is one whose prayers are effective. As a result, the spiritually weak or physically weak would be strengthened among us. We ‘encourage the fainthearted, and help the weak .’[1 Thess 5:14]

Elijah is an example. His prayer was powerful and effective. Prayer works, but not because of the power of him who prays. It works because God hears, and responds with all of His power and effectiveness. In fact, he is no different than anyone of us - fallible, mortal, and limited human beings. And yet, when he prayed that it would not rain and for the rain to come, it didn't rain and the rain came after, respectively.

-------------------------

Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram

Comments (3)