We Need Each Other

       I was once taught that after saying the prayer of salvation that it didn't matter if I confessed my sins anymore or not when I stumbled, or sinned intentionally. I was told that so long as I had said the prayer, that Jesus covered them all and I didn't have to worry about it anymore, it was a one time deal. But then one day I read James' letter to a body of believers where he writes this (James 5:16) 'Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.'
       This confused me for months to be honest. I had to read to James 5 several times and pray for clarity, I was conflicted between what I was taught and what the word said. Why should we confess our sins to one another and pray about them if it didn't matter anymore? And if man can't give us true forgiveness what was the point, hadn't I already been forgiven for everything? I didn't get a direct response to this, no voice, vision, or word; instead God answered my prayer through a lesson. He taught me that we weren't so much confessing our wrongs to receive forgiveness from each other(although in some situations we are) but to release us from the influence of that sin on our lives.
       What I mean is this, when I was struggling on my own against the sin and not sharing it with anyone for fear of judgment, it seemed impossible to overcome it. I kept getting stuck in the same trap over and over again. Finally, I broke down and asked someone else for help, I asked them to pray with me that I could overcome that stumbling block through Jesus, and advice on how to handle things better. And it worked! I had prayed over and over on my own, but it wasn't until I finally realized that I needed help, I needed support, that I was able to get past it.
       I think sometimes we forget that the church body is there to help us, that we don't have to go through it by ourselves. We are a family, and families help each other in times of need. God used this experience to show me, that not only did I need Him, but I needed connections with people in the body of Christ who I could count on. People who I can trust and come to for prayer and godly counsel when I am in need, and that I could provide for in that same way when they are in need. When we come together to lift up someone in prayer, we are strengthening them for whatever they may be going through at the time. This is why it says to confess to each other and pray, so that we may have the strength and support to overcome that sin in our life!
       From this experience I learned that sometimes I need to confess my myself to others believers to receive the deliverance I'm looking for, but I also learned that I just need others period.  We need others to help us stay on track when our sin might carry us away. I learned that we all need support, and we are all there to give it.

Galatians 6:2    
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

 1 Thessalonians 5:11        
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 

Romans 12:4-5        
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

James 5:19-20
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.