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

There aren’t many Scriptures that are more central to the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement than this one, and thankfully, the practice of praying for healing, and expecting results, has spread to many other churches as well. However, the first part of the verse, “Confess your sins to each other,” has received far less acceptance, at least in practice. That’s probably a major reason there aren’t more healings! We have a lot of trouble “getting naked” before God, much less before our brothers and sisters in Christ, and that’s what this verse is talking about. Fig leaves are a major holdover from the Garden of Eden! (Genesis 3:7) It’s interesting to realize that people don’t hesitate to strip down physically for medical treatment, but they balk at what this verse is talking about. Physical exposure is all the rage, with “wardrobe malfunctions” and people “forgetting to wear underwear,” but when it comes to being honest before God and man about who we are and what we’ve done, we run in panic. Spiritual health comes from physical modesty coupled with total honesty about who and what we are. I think the problems arise because people don’t really know who and what they are, or can be in Christ, and since their perception of themselves is so distorted, they desperately don’t want others to see them as they themselves think they are. It is absolutely foundational and essential that we realize that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23) but by itself there is no hope in that statement. We have to continue to verse 24: “and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.” When we get both verses firmly in our minds and hearts, confessing our sins becomes a non-issue. Healing of all sorts comes from realizing that Jesus has already done it all, because we were unable to do it for ourselves. Confessing sins and praying for one another must be on that foundation.

Once again I am immensely thankful for having been raised by a father who had absolute honesty as one of his foundational principles. That’s not the same as “letting it all hand out,” however. There are times when saying too much is damaging in various ways. However, the secular proverb, “Honesty is the best policy,” is certainly true. I need God’s wisdom and guidance as to what to say to whom, and how to encourage them to open up to God, and to me when that is called for. I am to live a personally clean life, but not pretend that I am perfect. I’m not to run around telling all the things I’ve done in the past, because that could well come across as giving others permission to do the same things. I am to recognize that any failure to keep Christ first in my affections and my priorities is sin, and seek His forgiveness when I recognize it has happened. I need to be as spiritually healthy as possible, so that I may in turn help others.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for this time in the hospital, and for the opportunities for witness You are giving me. Help me make full use of each one, so that I may be an open channel of Your life and healing to others, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!