A few weeks ago I put out a tweet that said the following…
“Covering laziness in prayer is not a spiritual discipline.”
It was retweeted several times; however, there were also a few people who said that the statement was confusing and asked for an explanation. So here goes…
I believe that many people in the Body of Christ use prayer as an excuse for inactivity and laziness.
Yes, I am ALL ABOUT PRAYER! I’ve seen Jesus do things through the power of prayer that would make a Methodist shout.
However, there are some things that we simply cannot “cover in prayer” and hope they will get better. Nope, we’ve got to take action!!! Things such as…
If you need to lose weight you are not going to “pray the pounds away!” It’s just not going to happen!!! You are going to have to get your butt up off of the couch and exercise. You are going to have to stop slamming cookies in your mouth. You are going to have to stop drinking 10 sodas a day! You can pray all you want…but if you do not put action with your prayer it’s NOT going to help!
If your marriage is in trouble and is on edge then you are not going to “pray it back into a great place.” You are going to have to start paying attention to your wife…and turn the freakin TV off. You are going to have to pursue her…and NOT just when you want something from her. You are going to have to stop being a jerk. And ladies, you are going to have to stop gossipping about your husband to your friends. You are going to have to stop telling your children their father is a loser.
If you want your kids to admire and respect you it’s not going to happen through “just praying about it.” You are going to have to spend time with them. You are going to have to talk with them, even the awkward subjects. You are going to have to admit your sins and shortcomings to them and ask for their forgiveness. You are going to have to STOP trying to be their friend and actually be the parent!
If you are broke then you are not going to just “pray money into your bank account.” You are going to have to put God first in your finances. You are going to have to STOP spending money you don’t have to buy things you don’t need to impress people you don’t like. You are going to have to get on a budget and live within your means.
If you are struggling with a particular sin that is kicking your rear end you aren’t going to “pray it out of your life!” (By the way, many of you have tried that, I just wanted to ask, “how’s that going for you?”) Nope…you are going to need to do what James 5:16 says and confess it, OUT LOUD, to another human being who is stronger than you spiritually and that can help you fight through this issue!
If you are a church leader and there is a situation that is dominating you and your ministry, you’ve got to do something about it!!! David didn’t just pray and pray and God, through his prayer times, took Goliath out! Nope, David picked up five rocks, walked down into the valley and handled business. You cannot be passive about an issue and believe that “through prayer” God will just take it away. If you are a leader and God brings an issue to your attention…He most likely did so because He expects you to take ACTION!
I could go on, but you get the point. Prayer is essential! Prayer is necessary! Prayer is commanded! Prayer is a powerful weapon which we should make more use of in the church; however, God did not just call us to PRAY about His will but also to PARTICIPATE in it. And too many times Christians are willing to pray about things and think we’ve done our part…and then get angry at God because He did not do something amazing to compensate for our laziness and passivity.
Don’t just pray to God…but participate with God as He moves!
Let this be the year that we don’t just pray big prayers…but we take bold steps and believe that as we pray and participate we will see God do amazing things!