Will prayer fix this mess?

            There is this weird line between effective prayer and mere words. How do we know if God hears our requests? Are we just saying words to look good? What is the state of prayer in this world today? What I find weird is the people who don’t like church or really believe in God. Why do they offer prayer to victims? What does prayer do in their world? See, we are in a weird place.

            I know of a Christian church that offers prayer all the time. They pray before a service and after on many Sundays. One year they were asked to help the homeless children on the streets. They offered prayer and warm clothing. Are those actions the right response to a crisis? Did the church do what it was designed to do. Is prayer one thing and action another?

            Recently we have had several terrorist attacks around the world. People are dying and the prayers to Allah seem to be working. The prayers from the victims seem to be going unheard. Now I don’t really believe that but by sight alone it looks lop sided in Islam’s favor. Are we just supposed to pray and stand still? Interestingly enough, the terrorists pray and then do something. My daughter said the other day that she heard that prayer needs legs. I bet the Islamist would agree.

            In the Bible there are several examples of prayer and action. Jesus asked the people to rely on God but he also asked them to Go and reach the world. In the Old Testament Jehoshaphat prayed to God in 1 Chronicles 20 and God fought his battles. God still asked him to go. In many ways prayer is first but we are asked to go and be put in harm’s way. I think prayer and legs is the right answer. Joshua marched around Jericho for seven days while praying.

            What does God have to say about prayer? It’s a strange place to get on your knees and pray. What do these unseen words do? Where do they Go? Isaiah 55:11 says “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” God uses prayer to communicate. I find that much of the time it is wisdom and revelation. As we talk with God things become clear. Prayer is a ton more than requests.

            Prayer does have legs. Jesus prayed and a man stood up and carried his mat. Paul had an interesting voyage in a storm. He prayed and was told in his heart to stay on the ship and trust God. Do you think the men running the ship stopped and did nothing? They continued to run the ship in the mist of the storm. Paul said stay and don’t abandon the ship. He did not say stop and pray. Prayer works but prayer is accompanied by actions. Those actions come from the wisdom of God through prayer.

            The other day a newspaper in New York said “God can’t fix this” in regards to terror attacks in America. The point was that several government officials offered their prayers to victims but have done little to curb terrorism. Where is the line between prayer and action? I worry that it is clique to say “I offer prayers.” It’s easy to offer money and prayer because it absolves us from using our legs. We just might be using prayer to keep out of harm’s way.

            Prayer and being in harm’s way go hand in hand. Whether God fights our battles is irrelevant. The action of praying is followed by an action into harm’s way. Jesus prayed and then confronted the religious rulers. Jehoshaphat prayed and then marched into battle. Gideon prayed and then went into battle. In each case wisdom was given to know what to do.

            1 Chronicles 20 has the King saying to God “Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Peter wanted to walk on water. Jesus said to get out of the boat. Peter had his eyes on Jesus until the storm came. Then Peter began to sink because he took his eyes off Jesus. It’s easy to pray but we love to give those prayers in public. I think our eyes are looking at ourselves more often than on God when we offer prayerful words. Can wisdom come back to us if our prayers are just words? If God knows we will not act before we pray, then why give prayer legs at all.

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