Confess Your Sins

Read: James 5:16
Listen: James 5

This year in Beyond the Weekend, journey through different biblical models of prayer—one each month. March’s focus is Prayers of Confession.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

James was the younger brother of Jesus. After eventually coming to faith in Jesus as the Christ, he writes a letter calling believers to live in a way that faithfully reflects Jesus’s life and teachings. For believers, faith and works should be aligned. In James’s words, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Near the end of his letter, he charges believers to pray in a way that reflects bold faith. Believers are to confess their sins to God, recognizing that the vitality of their walk with God impacts the effectiveness of their prayers.

It’s possible to live in a state of being spiritually oblivious, unaware of the extent or severity of our sin. This can be caused by a lack of exposure to Scripture (which reveals our sin) or by an extended season of walking away from God and his ways. Prolonged rebellion can harden our hearts and sear our consciences. This is one of the major reasons it is so important that we read, study, and listen to Scripture consistently and apply it to our lives through regular confession. We all fall short of perfectly obeying God’s Word. But confession provides us with a means to own up to such shortcomings and experience renewed intimacy in our walk with God.

TODAY: Spend some time in confession. Read a passage of Scripture that highlights God’s commands for your life (like Ephesians 4), and then confess to him any shortcomings in keeping these instructions. Remember that God is overflowing in grace and mercy. He welcomes the repentant sinner with open arms.