Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16 KJV
Perfection by human standards is not a requirement for God to use a life. God who made us knows our frame, knows we are weak, and He supplies the strength we need to please Him. This is the note on which today's extract starts. Sin made a mess, but Christ has come with a message: that in me, you can be all I have created you to be. So when we relate with one another, we need to remember that we deal with the all-knowing God.
When He charges us to confess our faults one to another, it is a reminder that we share a common bond: We come from the one and true God and have received grace to live right. Even when we go wrong, we can get strength and renewal through fellowship and prayers. Guilt is a deadly weight; trying to go it alone usually has unpalatable consequences; seeking self-justification by good works isn't the prescribed way of getting God's help. When we pray together, it is an acknowledgement of our helplessness and a sign that we know where the strength to live right comes from.
The end of today's extract is instructive: when a person is totally dependent on God, s/he is termed righteous. S/he has come to see God as the source of all things. When such a person kneels to pray, heaven pays attention because the person accesses heaven the right way and on the right terms. When such a person seeks God, God is moved to answer because his child, who is totally dependent on Him, living according to His standards and relating in grace with other people, has made an approach. Where do you stand? Who are you? Does God know you as His own? I have to answer the same questions. His time of favour is here
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