Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer,
Speaker 1: where we help you find the words you need to
Speaker 1: connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening
Speaker 1: in your life today, you can trust that God wants
Speaker 1: to hear from you. Right after this short word from
Speaker 1: our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer for the strength
Speaker 1: to confess your sin. A Prayer for the Strength to
Speaker 1: Confess your sin, written by Emily Rose Massey read by
Speaker 1: Leah Gerard. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and
Speaker 1: pray for one another that you may be healed. The
Speaker 1: prayer of a righteous person has great power as it
Speaker 1: is working. James five, sixteen. My husband and I have
Speaker 1: led a small group at our local church for the
Speaker 1: last four years. Cultivating relationships in our group has taken
Speaker 1: time and effort, but it's been beautiful to watch each
Speaker 1: person grow in the Lord. The model of our weekly
Speaker 1: meeting time is very simple, yet powerful and fruitful. We
Speaker 1: spend the first twenty minutes in fellowship, forty minutes answering
Speaker 1: discussion questions about the sermon preached on Sunday, forty minutes
Speaker 1: in what we call mutual ministry, and the last twenty
Speaker 1: minutes in fellowship again. Mutual ministry is the time in
Speaker 1: which the men and the women separate from each other
Speaker 1: and share our burdens with one another. This includes sharing
Speaker 1: various prayer requests, but most importantly, we spend intentional time
Speaker 1: getting to the root of sin in our heart hearts.
Speaker 1: This type of weekly confession before brothers and sisters is
Speaker 1: something the Bible encourages us to do. This encouragement and
Speaker 1: admonishment are found specifically in James. Therefore, confess your sins
Speaker 1: to one another and pray for one another that you
Speaker 1: may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has
Speaker 1: great power as it is working James five sixteen. The
Speaker 1: fact of the matter is that sin wounds our hearts.
Speaker 1: It makes us grow callous toward God as we choose
Speaker 1: our own ways over his. Confession simply means saying what
Speaker 1: God says about our sin. We own up to it.
Speaker 1: When we acknowledge our sin before God and others, the
Speaker 1: grip sin has on our heart loosens. God brings healing.
Speaker 1: As we humble ourselves and look to Him for his
Speaker 1: grace and mercy, our fellowship with the Father is strengthened
Speaker 1: and we're reminded how desperately we need him. This type
Speaker 1: of vulnerability and openness that occurs when we confess our
Speaker 1: sin among believers unites and strengthens our relationship as well.
Speaker 1: We can see how none of us is perfect. We
Speaker 1: all fall short of God's glory Romans three twenty three.
Speaker 1: When we share the sins we're struggling with, we go
Speaker 1: beyond surface level conversations and move into heart level conversations
Speaker 1: that really make a difference in our lives. We're bringing
Speaker 1: darkness to the light where it can no longer hold us.
Speaker 1: We must not hide in the shadows holding on to
Speaker 1: our sin. We must confess it and expose it. This
Speaker 1: is where real change begins in our relationship with Christ
Speaker 1: and with each other. Then we're given a beautiful opportunity
Speaker 1: to pray for one another in a very specific and
Speaker 1: in way. The reason James says that the prayer of
Speaker 1: a righteous person has power is that for the believer,
Speaker 1: we're given Christ's righteousness, which means God certainly hears our
Speaker 1: cries and receives him. This righteousness is not of our
Speaker 1: own doing. It's Christ's righteousness. Were clothed in because of
Speaker 1: what he accomplished for us on the Cross. If we
Speaker 1: are in Christ, we can have confidence that God is
Speaker 1: at work in our lives, pouring out his mercy and
Speaker 1: grace and transforming us to look more like Christ. This
Speaker 1: verse in James reminds us how much we need the
Speaker 1: accountability and support of our brothers and sisters in Christ
Speaker 1: as we're all on this journey of sanctification and growth
Speaker 1: in the Lord until we see him face to face.
Speaker 1: If you're struggling to be vulnerable with your brothers and
Speaker 1: sisters in Christ, especially regarding your sin, Let's boldly coach
Speaker 1: the throne of Grace. Let's ask him for strength to
Speaker 1: be able to bring our sins to the light where
Speaker 1: we can encourage one another to walk in the light
Speaker 1: as His children. Let's pray, Heavenly Father, I know that
Speaker 1: even though on this side of heaven, I will never
Speaker 1: be sinless, you do want me to flee from sin.
Speaker 1: When I give into temptation and rebel against you and
Speaker 1: your ways, I'm tempted to run and hide from you,
Speaker 1: just like Adam and Eve did when sin first entered
Speaker 1: the world. I need your strength to push past that
Speaker 1: desire to hide. I want any darkness to come to
Speaker 1: the light. I want to truly repent and see freedom
Speaker 1: from the grip of sin in my life. I know
Speaker 1: this is a daily fight to deny my flesh, walk
Speaker 1: in the spirit and follow You help me to see
Speaker 1: the gift of accountability and love for my brothers and
Speaker 1: sisters in Christ. We also need your strength to be
Speaker 1: vulnerable and honest with you and those who You've placed
Speaker 1: around me. I long to be an encouragement to others
Speaker 1: who are struggling and to point them to the cross
Speaker 1: where Jesus bore our sin. Thank you for conforming me
Speaker 1: to look more like Christ day by day in Jesus name. Amen.
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Speaker 1: sure to follow our sister show your nightly prayer. You
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Speaker 1: day begins and ends entered on the Word of God
Speaker 1: and prayer