PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES - THE BOOK OF JAMES, #10

METHODOLOGY CONCERNING: ACCOUNTABILITY

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:16a).

There is no more Christian act than to pray for your fellow man or woman - without fear, without favor and without concern if he or she is even a Christian at all! It is a special honor, even calling, to be able to stand in the gap for another in prayer and supplication before the Throne of God. Theoretically, we are commanded to do so, as this verse from James 5 commands, but in practice, it does not work this way.

The Lord, through James is calling for two spiritually critical things, on two separate tracksl in one command here: Accountability and Intercession. First, He is recommending strongly here that we each hold one another accountable and in today's parlance, this would most likely be in a small group. We are all accountable to someone, from our managers at work to our spouses, to the church board or the local town council. Everyone answers to someone else. 

Above all, Christians must be accountable to each other. A man or woman of God has to beware of this from the Lord "let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). Every pastor, ministry leader or christian who has ever stumbled or worse, in the area of sin and/or immorality fed by pride and lack of a humble spirit. Even worse, the lack of any kind of Prayer Life opens the door to sin and destruction. While one would expect a successful Christian leader to be more susceptible to such sin, never think that the poor guy in the small church at the store front is not in Satan's cross-hairs, for the same reason! In fact, the song leader of the church with 21 members is in just as much danger is the mega-church worship leader with this $100 jeans and fancy coffees or designer water. Both can possess the same lack of a meaningful prayer and accountable Christian life!

All Christians must guard against unconfessed sin and lack of accountability. An accountability partner, whether wife or older gentleman in the church, would be perfect. But to Whom we are most accountable, most of all, is the Lord Jesus Himself. So this call to prayer by James is the precise methodology of getting out and staying out of trouble- confession and prayer. Confession is the first step in the process of Repentance humility, where there underlies the crux of the matter: communication with the High Priest of Heaven- Jesus.

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