Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James 5:16 AMPC
Context and Charge:
There is power in fellowship. There is power in community. There is a dynamic force in play when people of like minds come together to pursue and achieve a common purpose. I also note that there is power in each person. All who have come to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour have that power living in and working out of them. Please note that being of like mind, or that we are all Christians, does not mean that you will all see issues from the same perspective, but that the common foundation of all of us helps us see the bigger picture. The bigger picture here is our common faith and trust in Jesus, the One who saved us from sin, called us to Himself, and then sets us on the path of impact and eternal life. This common foundation is bigger and better than all the other minor issues that may seek to divide us, and it is this foundation that helps bring this verse to life.
How else, and on what other platform can a man dare confess his faults to another, and be sure and certain that he would not be condemned or mocked? This common fellowship also helps me pray for another person, or another person can pray for me, and issues are resolved. There is a standing assurance that based on this common foundation, we can ask God for healing, or even restoration, and we will receive it. We have a common Father, a common Saviour and a common Helper, who is the Holy Spirit. When we all call on our Father, He hears us, either as individuals or as a fellowship of believers. Even when there is misunderstanding or conflict, when we pray, God's grace helps us find areas of cooperation. The One who brings us together is more powerful that anyone who may seek to divide us. We know that we are on a journey, and that God never leaves His own alone.
Conviction and Conclusion:
The latter part of the verse is an emphasis of the individual power, leading on the impact that we all can make. It is first an individual walk, but it does not stop there. My life must flow out with that power, and then touch everything around me. Righteousness is the nature of God, replicated in the lives of all who are in God, and if I am indeed one, I have access to the treasures and resources spoken here. It does not always mean that God will give me all I ask for, when I want it and in the quantity I want, but it means that I know I am His, and that knowledge gives me comfort that nothing can happen to me unless He permits it. Power is available to all who know God in this way, and nothing else can give you access to this power, unless you seek it the way God lays it out here. There is no room for pretence or hypocrisy; just a sincere heart that seeks God. Does this describe me at the moment? God's time of favour is here.
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