Confess

Confess

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

“I’M STRUGGLING,” I began. “I’m not sure what to do, but we need help. I just need to tell someone else what is going on,” I said as I poured out my heart on the screen. I then took a deep breath as I hit send to two close friends in an email early one morning.

My husband and I were walking through a challenging season in our marriage, and we needed prayer and accountability. We needed others who loved us to come alongside us to pray for and encourage us. And as my friends’ responses came back, ones of prayer, of support, and of being completely for both of us and our marriage, I breathed a sigh of relief. I no longer felt alone. The heaviness of the situation lifted as I saw my friends now carrying my burden with me. I felt lighter than I had in a long time. It took several months, but healing began to come, and it started by allowing others into our pain.

Admitting to things in our lives that we have kept hidden can be hard. Sometimes we’re afraid of being ashamed or embarrassed. Maybe we’ve struggled with sin for years and aren’t sure how to confess it to someone else. The enemy would love nothing more than for us to keep our sins hidden, because that is where they retain control over us. Confession is much more than just admitting to someone else something we’ve been struggling with; confession sets us free. Confession opens the door for healing to occur. When we confess our shortcomings to one another, God uses that process to bring about healing and freedom for what we are struggling to overcome. We’re no longer alone in our pain. God is there. Trusted friends are there to pray with and for us. And then our healing comes.

Lord, give me the courage to confess my sin to you and to a trusted friend. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Step: Pray and ask God to give you wisdom to know what trusted friend you can confess your sin to, and then reach out to them, acknowledge your struggle, and ask them to pray with you.