The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing but are there times when it is time to stop praying and do something? There are several examples in the Bible of when this was the case. However, every time there is a delay in our prayers being answered doesn't mean we should jump head first into 'doing something'. It might mean though, that we should prayerfully reflect if we are being obedient.
In Exodus 14 we read where Moses and the children of Israel stand before the Red Sea with the Egyptian army pursuing them. Afraid, they cried out to God. What did God say to them?
"And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward." Exodus 14:15
In other words, the time for prayer is over and the time for doing is at hand. They have prayed and now they must act in obedience. They must "go forward".
Is this where we are with our prayers? Do we know what we should do but we are afraid and continue to cry out to God when we really know it is time to act?
In Joshua chapter 7 we read of Joshua's defeat at the hand of the people of the city of Ai. Having defeated Jericho, Joshua turned his sights on Ai. Thinking this would be an easy victory the Israelites attacked Ai only to be routed. Joshua prayed to God, more like complained to God, concerning their defeat. How does God reply?
“Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? " Joshua 7: 10 (b)
God tells Joshua there is sin in their midst. No victory will be had until that sin is dealt with. The people must repent first, then they will see victory. No amount of prayer will gain them victory until they repent.
Is this not so like us? Don't we pray for months, even years without having prayers answered? Certainly God delays at times, but have we reflected on ourself? Have we asked God to show us any sin that we must repent of?
In Matthew chapter 5 in verse 23 and 24 our Lord tells us to first be reconciled to our brother before we present our offerings. We are not Jewish. We do not go to the temple with offerings, but we do go before God in prayer to offer our gifts of money, love, time and praise. In Romans 12:1 we are told to offer our lives as a sacrifice. We do this prayerfully.
Our Lord tells us before we do this we must reach out if there is someone who we have ill will to, to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Whoever it is, parent, child, friend or someone we barely know, we should be reconciled. Like I John 4:20 reminds us, if we don't love our brother, we can't love God.
In Acts 22 we read how Ananais came to Paul. Standing before Paul, Ananais restored Paul's sight, informed him of God's plans for him and then had this to say in verse 16,
" And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
Ananais wants Paul to know that the time for prayer is over, that the time for obedience has come. Have we prayed for salvation? Have we been obedient to the word? Have we repented and been baptized? Cornelius was another example. In Acts 10 and 11 the angel told Cornelius to send for Peter who would tell him what to do to be saved. When Peter came, he preached Jesus to Cornelius and his household and told them to be baptized.
A.W. Tozer was a well-known American pastor and author. He says this about prayer,
“Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late and how little revival has resulted? We have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.”
So while prayer should be our way of living, obedience is as well. What are we actually doing to promote revival ourselves? What are we doing in our family and among our friends to spread the word?
Often, we pray for healing while at the same time we are doing things that make our health worse. What is it that we know God would have us do or change that we are stubbornly refusing to do? Should we go to the doctor, have surgery, change our diet or get more exercise?
Never underestimate the power of prayer but also remember that there are times when action is required on our part. My prayer is that God will show me when it is time to stop praying and DO something.
This post was inspired by the sermon, "When God Said, "Stop Praying".
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