That You May Be Healed

Day 325: James 5:1-20

“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.” - James‬ ‭5:16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So many of us love the part of this chapter that shows the potential of a sick person we love to experience lasting healing. What an amazing thing it must have been to see consistent miracles happen among the early church members. As time has passed, the frequency of these signs and wonders has slowed.

Even toward the end of the Apostle Paul’s life, we see him offering medicinal healing as a help (1 Timothy 5:23). Yet we should still pray, believing God can even now do the impossible!

The opening of verse sixteen isn’t as fun. We are commanded to confess our sins to one another. Nothing can be harder than to admit that we’ve blown it, especially to communicate that to another Christian that we could potentially let down.

Yet when we do confess our mistakes, we experience healing 100% of the time.

Don’t let your pride (or laziness) keep you from experiencing the fullness of God’s power.

”Mutual confession of sins, which James encourages as a habitual practice (this is suggested by the present tense of the imperative), is greatly beneficial to the spiritual vitality of a church.” - Douglas J. Moo, “James”, pg 229