"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
James 5:16 NIV
In the original language of the NT, this verse is written in the imperative (not the indicative) "mood." That means that we are commanded both to confess our sins and to pray for each other to be healed.
Every Christian knows that it is vital to confess our sins to God (see 1 John 1:9). Hopefully, we understand that admission of guilt is a first step, not only toward receiving forgiveness but toward being cleansed of our guilt and being transformed into greater Christlikeness. Acknowledgement of guilt is essential to our spiritual development. Excuses won't do. They simply keep us stuck. It isn't easy but confessing our sins to God will lead to breakthrough. It also seems safe and we can do it without letting anyone else know about our stuff. Yet, as you can see, confessing our sins to God isn't all the Bible has to say about confession.
If only James 5:16 hadn't been included in the Bible! Now we have to think about confessing to another person? Why? It's good to take ownership of what we've done with the person we've injured, especially when doing so won't injure them further (Step Nine of AA offers some sound advice: "Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others"). It can open a door to reconciliation and trust. It's also good to confess to a spiritual director- someone we invite to ask probing questions and who can advise us about ways we may need to make amends. Sometimes it is simply good to confess to our entire faith community (especially if your faith community is a house church or small group). When this seems prudent, it can embolden others to do the same thing and it can help foster a safe environment where we don't conceal sin. Concealment is like putting gas on a fire, while self-disclosure brings freedom (See Proverbs 28:13).
How often should one confess to others? As often as you feel you are susceptible to a besetting sin (Hebrews 12:1). I think you will find it helpful to treat the confession of sin (and vulnerabilities) as a spiritual discipline. Regular confession will help you to access the grace of God.
Do you intend to make this a practice?
Next week we'll focus on the second part of this command.