James is talking about intercessory prayer (praying for someone else), but it’s important not to gloss over the first part of this verse, as I did at first. Confession must come before prayer. Why is that important? Because it is the prayer of a righteous person that is very powerful. And there is no way for any human to be righteous without Jesus’s saving grace. And I can only have that if I confess, repent, and humbly accept forgiveness. Once that is squared away, my prayers go right to God’s listening ear. If I skip that step, my prayers end up on God’s mailroom floor. If I really want my prayers for someone else to be effective, I must first clean my own conscience. However, there is one more little detail in this verse about confession. James says it’s important to confess our sins to each other before praying for each other. Why would that be necessary? It’s God’s forgiveness that makes me righteous. Do I really need to humiliate myself by confessing to someone before praying for them? One of the problems with sin is its real life consequences which can be very complicated. They can affect my health and my relationships and my finances… every aspect of my life. Without confessing my sin, how can I really be healed? It would be like giving me an aspirin for the pain in my head while ignoring the giant nail sticking out of my skull. To pray for someone effectively, the sin must be removed first. But confession to people is hard! We are so judgmental. It gets easier if I’m not the only one confessing though. I think that’s why James teaches that we should confess to each other before praying for each other. Confessing develops an intimate safe space where the root of the problems can be exposed. Only then are my prayers “very powerful.”
Dear God,
Thank you for prayer. I’m so grateful that I am allowed to speak directly to you whenever I want to. Thank you for Jesus’s sacrifice which made that possible. Remind me not to take this for granted though. Remind me to confess, repent, and be thankful every time I seek to enter your holy presence. I want my prayers for the people you put in my life to be powerful!
CamDevo 