Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)God put the thought into my head that prayer is vital because I need to be connected to Him if I am to be of any use to others. But, prayer is not enough. In the matter of bearing burdens, He expects me to put shoe leather to my prayers. He reminds me of another passage in the Bible . . .
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:15–17)The current situation in Haiti is a good example. Prayer is needed, yet if that is all that anyone did, the results would be ludicrous. All the faith in the world does not move rubble, carry the injured to safety, or bring in supplies of food and water.
What prayer does do is clarify. If I spend even five minutes with God concerning the needs of others, He often reveals to me more about their need that I initially realized. He also shows me His will in the matter and gives me ideas of what I might do that is helpful.
To live is Christ means prayer, but also, at the initiative God gives, it means getting off my knees and doing something.
(Note: Following up from yesterday’s post, the day spent with that person who intimidated me was entirely God-blessed. I’m certain that my attitude had more to do with the problem than her attitudes. I’m also certain that God is the Giver of grace, the only One who can change my heart!)
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