Day 28: Quit Praying

Hey SIS!!!

 

Quit praying!!! But wait...we still have 12 more days left...why on Earth would we quit praying? Well simply put, Batterson doesn’t mean for us to quit praying in a literal sense, but rather figuratively. Batterson says, “There comes a moment when praying becomes a form of spiritual procrastination. It’s time to stop praying and start acting.”  I remember praying for God to get me out of the last job I had. I prayed and cried out and I didn’t get an answer. It wasn’t until I actually applied for another job that my prayers were answered. How could I expect God to move for me, if I didn’t have the courage to move for myself? God wants to see our initiative. Yes, He is all knowing and all powerful, but we cannot sit back and wait for God to drop blessings into our laps just because we prayed for something. The Bible says in James 2:17, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

The scripture for Day 28 is Matthew 25:23 which says, “His Lord said to him, ‘well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord.’”

 

Batterson says, “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.”

God wants us to look to Him in ALL that we do. The thing to remember is that we have to actually do something about it. We have to prove our faith to our God. If a new vehicle is what we are in need of, we have to act on it. We should start by covering our request in prayer constantly. James 5:16 tells us that, “...the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” So we know that God listens to our prayers, and prayers are essential in obtaining the blessings of the Lord, but we shouldn’t stop there. Next, we should find a scripture in the Bible that confirms God’s promises for our prayer. 3 John 1:2 says, “Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” This scripture is concrete evidence that the Lord wants us to have nice things. Using the word of God can also help us fight against the enemy. When we have negative thoughts and begin to feel that maybe we really won’t get a car or whatever material blessing we are praying for, we can use the word of God. At this point we have prayed and found a scripture to back us up in our journey, but let’s take it to another level. Now... we know that if we are in need of a new car/new house/payment on a bill etc. we should be good stewards over our finances. We cannot expect the Lord to give us something just because we asked. Even if that means we have to pass up on those shoes that we really wanted, and they could possibly on sale!!! (**Gasp**) Yes! We want to show the Lord that He can trust us. Saving our money is an action that proves to the Lord that we are maturing. He wouldn’t be just if He gave us a new vehicle and we didn’t take care of it because we were too busy spending on things that aren’t really of necessity. We have to show God that we can handle being blessed.

So remember to cover yourself, your needs, and your desires in prayer daily, but go the extra mile and DO something to help yourself accomplish your goal. God will still get ALL of the glory because He provides the blessings, but we will grow in patience and faith in our Lord.

Say this prayer:

 Lord I come to You humbly and grateful for all that You have done for me. I realize that sometimes I find it easier to pray over a situation and leave it for You to work out, when I should be actively proving my faithfulness and obedience to You. Lord, I apologize for any time I may have used prayer as an escape route to the circumstances that I did not want to deal with. Lord I ask that You give me wisdom to know the steps I should take to get closer to my blessings. I understand that even when I make strides to accomplish goals I am not and will never be alone. I thank You Lord for never giving up on me and I promise that I will do my very best to be faithful to Your word. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray Amen.

 

Post Written By: SIS Ebony E.