Latest / The Daily Word / July 21 – Healing Through Confession and Prayer
Transcript
- Robert Rosales: Good morning, Lakeshore family. Maybe good afternoon or good evening. Whatever time of day you're joining us, welcome to the Daily Word podcast. For those of us who haven't met, I'm Robert Rosales. And alongside my wife, Yolanda, we have the honor of serving as campus pastors at our Gastonia location. Just as a reminder, especially if you're joining us for the first time, this podcast is a simple space we share each day. to slow down, open God's word and pay attention to what he's saying. As a Lakeshore family, we're committed to meeting with God daily, not out of religious routine, but out of a relationship, through scripture, through prayer, and by capturing what the Holy Spirit is stirring in our hearts and how it connects to our everyday lives. We're walking together through the Life Journal reading plan. Today we'll be focusing on the New Testament portion from that plan now just as an encouragement. Let's keep it simple When I invest time with the Lord I just have my Bible my journal and something to write with a lot of times I'll have a highlighter and my computer because it helps me to study and to stay grounded in the text So I use a couple of guides that will help me to do that not to replace God's Word But to help me listen more closely I also want to remind you we use the SOAP method, Scripture Observation Application and Prayer, aka SOAP. It's a simple and practical tool not just to use to read God's Word but to respond to God's Word. Let me encourage you if you've never used it give it a try. I've been using this format, this tool for well over 30 years and I still use it today. Now before we jump into today's message, let's take a moment, prepare our hearts for God to speak. Pray with me. Lord, as we open your word, we ask that you would open us. By your spirit, make your truth come alive in us. Give us ears to hear, hearts to receive, and courage to respond. Speak, Lord, we are listening. In Jesus' name. Amen. Well friends, today's passage for July 21st is James chapter 5 and I journaled from verse 16. Many of you have heard it before. Let me read it out of the New King James that'll serve as a springboard for the rest of my journal entry. This is how it reads, confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails or accomplishes much. I know most of you have heard that before. Here's the title to my journal entry, Healing Through Confession and Prayer. And here's the observation, it's quite beefy, so lean in with me. One thing that immediately stands out to me in this verse is something we don't often practice. We readily quote the last half of the verse. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. It's one of the best known statements on the power of prayer, but we often overlook the first command that leads into it. Confess your trespasses to one another. That raises an important question. Why does James connect confession to prayer? Well, In many churches today, we're comfortable asking people to pray for us, but we're much less comfortable letting people know why we need prayer. We may admit we're struggling, but we rarely confess our sins, failures, temptations, or offenses to trusted brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet James doesn't separate the ideas. He places confession, prayer, healing and powerful intercession all in the same sentence. Perhaps that's because hidden sin isolates us. It keeps us pretending, protecting our image, and carrying burdens we were never meant to bear alone. Confession brings what is hidden into light. It tears down the walls of secrecy and invites others to stand with us in prayer. Notice James doesn't say to confess in order to earn God's forgiveness. Throughout scripture we know forgiveness comes through repentance before God because of Christ. Rather, James is speaking about life within the body of Christ, the family. There's a healing that takes place when believers walk honestly with one another instead of merely appearing to have it all together. Maybe we've unintentionally reduced church to a place where people gather to look strong instead of a family where people can become whole. The church should be one of the safest places to be honest. Not careless, not public with everything, but honest with trusted believers who will pray, restore, and encourage rather than condemn. Then James ends with this remarkable reminder. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. It's almost as though he's saying that when God's people walk in humility, openness, and dependence on one another, their prayers carry tremendous power. Powerful prayer and humble confession were never meant to be separated. Let me say that again. Powerful prayer and humble confession were never meant to be separated. Here's a reflection question. Is there a trusted believer with whom you need to be honest today? Sometimes the healing we've been praying for begins with the confession we've been avoiding. So here's the application. How does this apply to my life? This verse is both challenging and encouraging to me. I wonder if I need to intentionally look for a trusted brother in the Lord to whom I can confess my temptations and trespasses. Moving forward, I will ask the Lord to help me do this. I can see that the healing and restoration that come through effective prayer are connected to confession. Here's my prayer. Father God, thank you for speaking to me today through your word. Holy Spirit, help me to see and receive. the power released through confession and prayer, not just prayer. Teach me to be more humble, transparent, and open to trusted brothers in the Lord, who I know want to see me flourish in life and ministry. I realize I'm not perfect, so help me find someone or a couple of people I can trust with confession and prayer. In Jesus' name, amen. Lakeshore Family, As you go about your day, my prayer is that you'll develop a hunger for God and His Word like you've never known before. As you do, God will open your eyes to the riches of His Word, giving you revelation and life-changing insight that will help you become everything God's called you to be, fulfilling your mission, purpose, and plan for our great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thanks for joining me today on The Daily Word Podcast. I hope this encourages you to stay faithful in the Word and sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. God bless you and we'll catch you again tomorrow. Bye for now.