James 5:16a
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

Why does God want us to confess our sins to one another? I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like to do that. It exposes things about me that I’d rather others not know. Or if I’m really honest about what I do when I’m confessing my sins to others, I’ll come up with something that doesn’t sound so bad, so that others won’t think ill of me. But then I’m not honest with God about my sin.

The sin in our lives can be compared to an onion. As we become aware of sin and confess it, that outer layer of sin gets peeled off, exposing the rawness of the layer below. And like an onion, it can bring tears.

Praying for healing for another person for the sin in their lives is powerful. Jesus died for those sins, so it would be God’s will for us to confess and turn away from them. I think that is the main reason we are asked to confess our sins to others. It is the prayer offered to heal us from those sins that is what God wants. When we confess our sin in true repentance to another, asking for the prayer of healing, we are in God’s will.  And when we pray for someone else’s sin, it helps us to acknowledge that we are no different than anyone else. We all have a lot of layers that need peeled and exposed.

Unfortunately, confessing our sin to one another is rare today. And so the prayers that can heal us are rare too. Many of us walk around with layers and layers of sin that haven’t been exposed to us, never shedding a tear for the sacrifice that Christ made specifically for us.

Father, take away the reluctance to ask others to pray for the sin in my life. Bring on the tears that turn to joy as the burden is lifted. Allow true healing to take place in my life and the lives of others. Amen.