James 5:16 (NRSV)
Read James 5:16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
Devotion
We dare not read this passage in any community as saying that there is a direct causal relationship between personal sin and physical illness. However, we need to acknowledge that many people seek medical and psychological care because they are heavily burdened with guilt and shame. Confession is, indeed, good for the soul. And, the life of any community becomes the community of Christ as we pray and care for one another in the name of the one who first loved us!
Prayer
O God, help us to confess to one another so that your community may be restored. Amen.