Wednesday, March 26

The Confession Connection with Prayer {ACTS}

Wednesday, March 26

James 5:16

When Jesus cried out to His Heavenly Father “Eli, Eli, Lama sabachthani?” (Matthew 27:46), He was the only person Who was fully justified in asking that question. Jesus, as we read, believe, and confess, was “without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) So when He asked of His God, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” it was a legitimate cry. He had done nothing to deserve any punishment.

In His crucifixion, Jesus was suffering hell… (our hell)… which includes the removal of God’s love and presence. Now, we experience the love of God in manifold ways: a flower, a body sustained by all that God has created and given, fellowship with others, and, of course, for all people: the price of hell paid. And for some people: the price of hell paid and received by faith.

In this life, we can feel forsaken when we suffer in any way. But, honestly, all of us have sin within. So if we were truly forsaken, we would know that God had a reason to forsake us. But as long as we have breath, God has not forsaken us. Every day, we are tasting some of His love in understated ways. And the fact that we are still alive (especially for those who have not yet confessed Christ as Savior) means God is extending His loving hand by sustaining our life… beckoning us to believe.

Jesus’ half-brother James wrote: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Confession of sin and forgiving others seem to be a threshold for fully effective prayer. Jesus emphasized forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer and gave a potent 2 verse micro-sermon immediately following the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer – on the necessity of forgiveness as a key mark of faith.  (Mt. 6:14, 15)

A ”righteous man” is a person who believes in Jesus’ forgiveness and has it applied to his or her heart, by receiving the gift of faith in Christ. That righteous man also serves as God’s conduit of repentance and mercy when we confess our sins to others (Christians especially – in this verse from James) and then exchange mutual forgiveness. When we deceive ourselves by trying to conceal our sin (often from the person in the mirror), instead of confessing our sin and praying for those who sin against us, we sap the full power of a Christian prayer.

Jesus prayed, “My God!” He never lost His faith in His Father’s love even though He was in a hellish place of abandonment. We, too, may feel forsaken, but when we remember and believe God in Christ has reconciled us to Himself, we are not forsaken!  Instead, we are forgiven, “healed.” It seems that we say “My God” when we confess our sins to one another and pray for the grace of Christ to flow through us, to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Such prayers are evidence of belief in God’s mercy.