Today’s Scriptures: James 5:15-16, NKJV- “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
I was in recovery for fifteen years before the lightbulb went off and I recognized the power and perfection of combining James 5:15 and James 5:16. It finally clicked with me when I heard someone say we pray to God for forgiveness, and we pray with each other for healing.
James 5:16 is the verse that coincides with Step 5 and Lesson 12 in Celebrate Recovery entitled “Confess.” I also found this verse referenced in the Re:generation program in Week 8 and day 2 Groundwork lesson intitled “Confessing sin brings healing.” There is power in prayer and confession. Our humble honesty with God and another human being are both required for complete restoration.
We can trust God and His ways for redemption. When we pray in faith to the Lord as James 5:15 promises, He will lift us up. When we can confess our hurts, habits, and hang-ups with someone we can pray with, we do find healing as instructed in James 5:16. We must be careful to whom we confess. Does that person suggest praying to the Lord as the answer?
Both prayer and confession are powerful. As James 5:17-18 pointed out, Elijah was human just like us, yet his prayers proved powerful. So do ours. Let us pray to reveal God’s will and walk with friends we can pray with to produce God’s fruits.
Look around your life and your friendships. Do you have someone in your life that you can live out James 5:19-20 “My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.” (NLT)
We all have times in our lives where we need the honest feedback from another believer of Christ to bring us back to the truth, forgiveness, and healing of God. Will we be that kind of friend to someone who has wandered and needs forgiveness?
God does orchestrate and ordain our relationships. We do not have to look far. Who crosses your mind when you think of who you can confess and pray with about your deepest darkest secrets? Jesus is our forgiveness, and these people are in our lives for healing.
Will you pray to God for forgiveness and with someone else for healing?
Today’s Prayer: Almighty God, we pray to You, in faith, for the forgiveness of our sins. Thank You for promising to lift us up with the salvation and forgiveness of Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You Lord for bringing brothers and sisters into our lives so we find healing. Thank You LORD for surrounding us with family and friends who keep us from wandering too far from Your ways. We praise Your name LORD for protecting, saving, and forgiving us. We ask that You use us for the healing of others. In You LORD we trust. Amen.
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