Quit Praying
Quit Praying
“Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Matthew 25:23
One of the defining moments in my prayer life happened a decade ago. I was in a small group with a friend who worked for Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship at Georgetown University. Jeremy was working on a shoestring budget, and their campus ministry needed a computer. He shared the request at the end of our meeting, and I agreed to pray for it, but when I started praying for it, I felt that the Lord wanted me to stop praying. It was like the Holy Spirit said, “Why are you asking Me? You’re the one with the extra computer!” I quit praying in midsentence. I told Jeremy we didn’t need to pray about it because I had an extra computer he could have.
I wonder how many of our prayer requests are within our own power to answer? Yet we ask God to do what we can do ourselves. And then we wonder why God doesn’t respond. Maybe it’s because God won’t do for us what we can do for ourselves. God isn’t honored by prayers that are within the realm of human possibility; God is honored when we ask Him to do what is humanly impossible. That way, God gets all the glory!
There are some things we don’t need to pray about. We don’t need to pray about loving our neighbors. We don’t need to pray about giving generously or serving sacrificially. We don’t need to pray about blessing someone when it is in our power to do so. We don’t have to pray about turning the other cheek or going the extra mile. God has already spoken on those subjects.
There comes a moment when praying becomes a form of spiritual procrastination. It’s time to stop praying and start acting.
Quit praying about the program and fill out an application. Quit praying for the friend you hurt and make a phone call. Don’t just complain to God about your coworker; circle them in prayer. Don’t just pray for missionaries; write a check.
One of my heroes is Peter Marshall, the former chaplain of the United States Senate. His prayers at the opening of Senate sessions are timeless. Peter Marshall believed in an action-oriented approach to Scripture.
I wonder what would happena if we all agreed to read one of the Gospels, until we came to a place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it … began reading again? …
There are aspects of the Gospel that are puzzling and difficult to understand. But our problems are not centered around the things we don’t understand, but rather in the things we do understand, the things we could not possibly misunderstand.
This, after all, is but an illustration of the fact that our problem is not so much that we don’t know what we should do.
We know perfectly well … but we don’t want to do it.
Please don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. Pray about everything. Then pray some more. But at some point, we have to quit praying and start acting. One of the great mistakes we make is asking God to do for us what God wants us to do for Him. We confuse roles. For example, we try to convict those around us of sin. But that is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility, not ours. In the same sense, God won’t do for us what we can do ourselves. And many of us get stuck spiritually right there.
We are called to pray about everything, but there comes a time when praying can be a form of disobedience, laziness, or negligence. We can’t just pray like it depends on God; we also must work like it depends on us.
Action Verb
When Christianity turns into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb — more specifically, an action verb. The title of the book of Acts says it all, doesn’t it? It’s not the book of Ideas or Words. It’s the book of Acts. And if we said less and did more, I believe we would have the same kind of impact the first-century church had. And while we’re on the subject, we should be more known for what we’re for than what we’re against.
Prayer that doesn’t lead to action isn’t true prayer; it’s self-talk. When we talk to God, God will talk back to us. He will provoke us, rouse us, stir us, goad us, and prompt us. When we say “amen,” inaction is no longer an option.
I’m always challenged by members of our congregation who leave everything they know to go to a mission field in another part of the world. They are the true heroes of the kingdom. A few years ago, Becky pursued her God-ordained passion halfway around the world to a little village in India. Why? Because she couldn’t just pray about the injustice she had witnessed; she had to do something about it.
I went to India to work with women and children who were trafficked into sex slavery. Most of these women were Nepalese and ended up working as forced prostitutes in India’s infamous red-light districts. Their children were literally born into brothels and knew nothing of life except violence, rape, and hunger. Although I wasn’t able to rescue the women from their situation, I was able to offer hope and empowerment for the survivors and children. I led dance therapy sessions, helping to reconnect the survivors to their bodies and allowing them to see themselves as beautiful creations of God.
The area we were working in was devastatingly poor and malaria infested. And as an antitrafficking activist, I was in danger from the traffickers and brothel owners. My parents pleaded with me to leave, but I couldn’t stay away. I could see God in each of their bloodshot, traumatized, beautiful eyes, begging me to touch, to comfort, to hug, and ultimately to love them.
If Christians believe that the image of God is in every person, why don’t we act like it? Why do we turn our eyes from the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the prostitutes? Although prayer is necessary and helps bring comfort, it’s not enough to truly alleviate suffering. God didn’t send His Son to pray for us but rather to act for us. The only thing that upsets me more than downright evil acts are people who allow injustice to happen with their inaction. Jesus transformed God’s message into action, and it should be our mission to devote our lives to similar action.
When everything is said and done, God won’t say, “Well said, good and faithful servant.” He won’t say, “Well thought,” “well planned,” or even “well prayed.” There is only one commendation He will give: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Don’t just pray about it; do something about it.
a “I wonder what would happen”: Peter Marshall, Mr. Jones, Meet the Master: Sermons and Prayers of Peter Marshall (Old Tappan, N.J.: Revell, 1988), 143–44.
From the book
