Daily Devotions – Confession and healing

Daily Devotions – Confession and healing

 

 

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

James 5:13-16 (NIV)

The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 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.

This interesting teaching on prayer includes an important lesson on the connection between confession and healing. The Bible teaches that when we deny our sin, it leads to spiritual and sometimes even physical illness. Unconfessed sin is a barrier to faith and a barrier to experiencing God’s love. Look carefully at, and reflect on v. 16. This teaches that we don’t have to find a priest in order to make confession (although it is fine to do that). Any believing Christian can hear our confession, and pray for our forgiveness and healing. This is such a beautiful thing we can do for each other in the body of Christ!