09/28/2024
How do we speak of Jesus and avoid speaking of prayer? With just a cursory glimpse into the life of Christ we understand the importance of prayer to Him. And how it fit into His relationship with God. One thing that impresses me about the prayers of Jesus is that they aren't prayers of inactivity. The relationship that He has with the Father isn't one in which He prays and then does nothing. In something as simple as feeding the hungry crowd with fishes and loaves, He prayed, but then He actively trusted in God, broke bread, and gave the food to the hungry...
“he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.”
Matthew 15:36-37 ESV
In this story we see prayer followed by action; and we also see that God answered that prayer in abundance, because after all had been fed, there were still seven baskets full of leftovers.
Have you ever put off something by saying "let me pray about it" and then never gotten around to it? While growing up, my children asked me for things that I really didn't want to agree to; so I would say "let me think about it". Then one day, in response to some request they had made of me and I had given them my pat answer, my daughter looked at her siblings and said "that means no!" It was then that I realized what I was doing... I was copping out! From that moment on, I began to either say yes or no to them, and I strove not to use my old having to "think about it" response as an excuse for my inactivity.
Prayer doesn't feed the hungry, but God telling us what to do in prayer, or leading us to a solution does. I have volunteered many times at the local Rescue Mission to serve meals. Establishing that Mission wasn't my prayer, but I am joining in with it to make God’s will through someone else's answered prayer a reality. What the Mission does provide me with is an opportunity to put my faith into action, and gives me a reason to offer thanks to God for feeding the hungry, giving them a place to sleep, a warm shower, and the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Prayer becomes action and action accomplishes the will of God.
I read a quote by John Wesley that helps me to get up off my duff, and to get moving; it goes like this:
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." – John Wesley
This isn't scripture, but doesn't it sound a lot like a great lead in to Matthew 25?
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'”
Matthew 25:35-36 ESV
Jesus speaks in this parable of taking action! He is saying "Get Moving!" The emotion of Loving also takes effort, and it involves action too. Jesus spells this out in quoting the two greatest commandments. We have all heard them a number of times, but let’s read them again today because they speak of the act of loving… about action in faith and believing…
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."”
Mark 12:30-31 ESV
So we see that Jesus is an amazing man of prayer and action. Do we recognize this, and seek to follow Him as we enter into our own prayer closets, or do we still need convincing? Do we think He sweated blood in prayer while in the Garden of Gethsemane by doing nothing? Do we think that when He didn’t respond to Pontius Pilate’s questioning that He was simply being inactive? No, in the Garden He was praying fervently as He sought God’s will, and before Pilate He was actively acting on that will.
"[Jesus] was a man of prayer. He magnified the Word of God and often quoted scriptures. Right through His early life, Jesus observed Sabbath keeping, churchgoing, and the reading of the Word of God. His prayer intermingled with them all." – E. M. Bounds
Prayer is not an excuse for inactivity, it is a cry for action, whether it be ours, or God’s alone, and it is a search for the Lord’s will and direction. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then once He had received God's answer He began the act of fulfilling it... Jesus went into action. He was passively active. He acted on His humility and meekness.
When someone is hungry it is good to pray for them, and we are told to do so, but by providing them with food their hunger will be satisfied. When someone is sick it is good to pray for them, but by wiping their forehead with a cool wet cloth we will help bring down their fever. All through the Bible, God teaches us to act. Jesus describes the thing that is to be done, and how we are to do it, or how He did it. We are partners in our salvation; God provides the grace, and we meet Him in His will, and serve Him.
“Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom”
John 2:7-9 ESV
This morning I ask that we take action in our prayers and faith. I pray that we not only seek God’s will, but that we act upon it. There have certainly been times when God has taken independent action on our prayers, but more often than not we are told how to do something, or how to follow His will. Maybe we are told to get up and get moving, but sometimes it will be to “be still” and to just know that He is God, and He will provide. So whether we are meant to actively do something, or to actively be still or not be afraid, let’s join with our Heavenly Father in our prayers. Let’s seek His direction and will, then let’s travel that way with Him.
"Learn to worship God as the God who does wonders, who wishes to prove in you that He can do something supernatural and divine.” -Andrew Murray
Prayer:
Father, thank you for teaching us to act on our faith, our belief, and our prayers. Thank you for showing us that being still, resting, and yielding our troubles to you, are all active expressions of our faith, and the reaffirmation of our belief. Thank you for guiding our thoughts, prayers, and actions today. Help us to hear and act upon your will as we pray Father, and let your Holy Spirit give us remembrance of your Word, and an understanding of how we are to live it in prayer, and do your will that follows. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who first taught us to rest, and showed us that resting, especially on the Sabbath, is not lethargy, or slothfulness, but active obedience to you, and a means of refreshing our bodies, spirts, and faith. Holy are you who takes action for us when we need to see you moving in bold ways, and who gives us strength to do for ourselves when we need to feel you there lifting us up. Merciful are you when we don’t take action when we should by showing us the error of our ways, and leading us to contrition and to the active prayers of remorse that we pray as we ask for your forgiveness. Your grace is sufficient for us Lord, and it often leads us to rest, to be still, and to find that once we have done so our faith is made new, as if in the morning. Hear our prayers Father, teach us obedience, and give us an understanding of your will… do this so that our actions will always glorify you, and so that through Christ our souls will be saved, and made to be eternally new in your presence… righteous, holy, and perfected in the life, death, resurrection, and the name of Jesus.
And all who believe and have faith will say… Amen, Amen, Amen!
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
Rich Forbes