Do you ever get the feeling that we are missing something in American Christianity that the rest of the world may have figured out?

I do.

And I think I know what it is… partly, at least. Look at our passage for this week.  You can find it in James 5:16:

You can walk into any bookstore and find dozens of book on the power of prayer. They are everywhere. But when you walk into most churches, you hear phrases like “How can I be sure God hears my prayers?” and “Why won’t he answer my prayers?”

If prayer is so powerful (and it is), then why don’t we experience that power more often? What are we missing?

I think James gives us a hint at the answer in the first part of this verse. We love the second part, the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective part, but we overlook the first half of the verse to get to the part we like.

James tells us to confess our sins and pray for each other. The result? Healing. And only then does he speak of the power of prayer.

Confess my sins? Are you kidding me? I don’t want anyone knowing that stuff!

The simple truth is that if we don’t, we hamstring our effectiveness in other areas, such as prayer.

I realize that this isn’t the complete answer to the problems Christianity is facing in America today. But I believe it is a key component to our spiritual growth, both as a community of believers and as individuals.

The only question now is who do I unload my list of dirty laundry upon?

Do you have someone in your life to whom you can confess your sins? If not, what might it take to develop such a relationship? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.