I was told a story of a group of preachers in Mexico preaching a crusade. At one point they were at an outdoor restaurant about to eat. They all closed their eyes to pray and when they opened their eyes their food was gone. Apparently a bunch of children that lived there stole the food when they were not looking. One preacher there said, “Well, I guess we should watch and pray.”
Though this is a funny story it does bring an important thought to mind. Often situations arise that need prayer. Sometimes though they need action. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pray, but that we should put legs on our prayers. I’m saying that we can’t close our eyes to what we could do to help. As James says it: Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food and one of you tells them, “Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily.” If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do (James 2:15-16 ISV)?
Maybe they don’t need food, maybe they need a shoulder to lean on, a friend to listen to, a warm hug. We can pray that they receive these things, but if we are capable of helping we can’t close our eyes.
Yes there will be times that there is nothing that we can do, but we can pray. In those situations PRAY! It is the most powerful thing we can do. We can reach out to the Creator of all things, the life giver, the Mighty God and ask for His intervention.
In those situations that we can and should help, then we must watch and pray. Pray about what we should do and how we should do it. Seek counsel from God.
1 John 3:17-18 ISV 17 Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God be present in him? 18 Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.
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