December 18, 2024

James 5.16 (NIV)

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

Whenever we pray together, God’s power manifests.*

That awkward moment at prayer request time when someone shares TMI . . . We’ve all “been there” but hopefully not “done that.” And, perhaps, you have witnessed the opposite extreme: you know someone is struggling with something in his life but he doesn’t speak up when given the opportunity.

When we hear the word “confess,” our first thought is probably of the step in the plan of salvation which requires that we confess to God that we are sinners. Maybe we even think of the practice of confessing to a priest. James is not referring to these or the kind of confession that brings forgiveness; nor is he calling for “indiscriminate airing of . . . every shortcoming.”* James urges us to participate in confession that heals.

“Confessing to one another” doesn’t sound like a group activity so much as a one-on-one experience, but a group can be an appropriate setting. Ask God for discernment in choosing the right person or the right group with whom to share your confession. The adult Bible fellowship class I attend on Sunday mornings is a great setting for learning the Bible but not so much for sharing personal concerns. It is a large group – from 12 to 25 people each week – and consists of men and women of various ages and levels of spiritual maturity and most of whom I don’t know well enough to be certain of their ability to keep a confidence. Plus, we have a schedule to consider.

 

On the other hand, the small group I facilitate is all women, with six to ten in attendance each week, and we have pledged that what is shared in the group stays in the group. In addition, we meet in a home and there is never any pressure to cut anyone off due to a shortage of time. It is a safe place for a woman to confess her sins and concerns and to have her sisters come together in prayer for her.

Do not let your search for the right setting discourage you. We are commanded in the Bible to confess our sins to one another and so we must! We are also commanded to pray for one another – and how can we pray for you if we don’t know that you have a need?

Assuming a burden of prayer for others lightens one’s own load.*