That Which Quells Essential Power In The Body Of Christ

What is one of the greatest reasons why we lack essential power in "the church"…? Façades…!

We have heard it said time and time again, the greatest actors are not found on the silver screen in Hollywood or on the stage on (or off) Broadway. You will find the greatest actors you'll ever meet in your life gathering Sunday after Sunday in churches around the globe. Why do we find it necessary to keep up facades with one another…? We try to convince one another that we have everything all together not recognizing that it is the strength of recognizing weakness that we find the strength of the Lord…? Who do we really think we're fooling, other than ourselves…? The only ones really tricked in these occasions are ourselves.

James 5:16 (NKJV) …
16 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.

We use this scripture often to emphasize the latter part of it about "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man". And this makes for great emphasis on the power of prayer in the life of the believer. While I do not disagree with emphasizing that reality, I believe we do it to the neglect of the greater reality that resides in the foundation from which that power is built. Here's what I mean… While we can greatly preach on the effectiveness of prayer; get many "amens" and shouts of approval concerning the fervency of prayer; tout with great conviction the importance of personal righteousness; and "hoop" in succession of how all this culminates into availing much for the praying believer, all from the latter part of this verse…we tend to be particularly silent and often painfully mute concerning the first portion of the passage with the admonition to "confess your trespasses to one another". Isn't it strange, yet real, how we so easily bypass the "confession" to get to the "effective", when it is indeed the "confession" that forms the "effective". Our hesitancy towards this part of the passage is largely due to our outright fear of the whole idea of "confession". I really like the way this passage reads in the Amplified Bible…

James 5:16 (AMP) …
16 Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

It begs the question…if we are not confessing our trespasses, how do we know what to pray for and how can we be healed and restored…? This is why much of the body of Christ is bound…paralyzed in façades. We cannot expect or anticipate effective, fervent prayer availing much because without "confession" we won't be righteous. After all, what is righteousness, if not right-standing with God…? How can we indeed be in right-standing with God if we live in and exude façades…? David said of God that He desires truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6) and I add that truth in the inward parts will ultimately spill outward.

I have personally gotten to the point that I am frustrated with the lack of truth exhibited in the lives of those we call "Christians". Deliver me from the falsehood and "poker face" we practice in the church. I have recognized this trait in me and it sickens me to think I have perpetrated a fraud, particularly when there was nothing to gain and much to lose.

fa.çade n [F façade, fr. It facciata, fr. faccia face, fr. (assumed) VL facia] (ca. 1681) 1: the front of a building; also: any face of a building given special architectural treatment 2: a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect

Let me sound the alarm for all to hear…FAÇADES ARE NOT REAL…! Per Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, a façade is a false, superficial or artificial appearance or effect. In a word, it is a lie. It is a lie that we choose to believe and we orchestrate for others to believe about us. This is not the manner of true citizens of the Kingdom of God.

For those of us who walk in current expressions of the Kingdom of God and live in the present truth of Apostolic Reformation, if we still afford ourselves the perceived luxury of maintaining our own personal façade we have not advanced the way we think we have and we are as religious as we espouse others to be. It's the religion of "me" and not the relationship of God.

How do we worship effectively with a façade when the word of God says that "the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him" (St. John 4:23)…?

The sad reality is that we are afraid of confession because the church has not created an environment conducive to confession. We are at the mercy of the "gossip mongers" and their salacious and intently interested listeners. And such we some of us...! Real, true, honest confession becomes a laborious process in the presence of our fellow believers who many are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the first opportunity to crucify the one who dares follow the Word of God and engage in the practice of open confession. Oh, you know how it's done…we hold a "bull session"…you know what that is don't you…? It's a luscious gossip session, during which we dissect and re-dissect the incident with relish. Let's grow up saints and follow the Word of God. This spirit must be broken. We side with Satan as the accuser of the brethren when we take this course of action. I recall that Michael the archangel dared not bring a reviling accusation against the devil (Jude 1:9); yet we take "pop shots" at each other all the time without a second thought. Help us, Lord…! Can we honestly say like David, "I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress" (Psalm 17:3)…?

In this last hour, the body of believers needs all the power it can muster and we cannot afford to let anything slip. We must pray like David; "Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip" (Psalm 17:5). I challenge believers everywhere to exercise the Word of God and confess your trespasses to one another so we may all know how to pray and see true healing and restoration come to the body of Christ. It is then, and only then, that we will realize the true effective, fervent prayer of the righteous availing much.