Prayer and Action

Prayer must motivate action in the prayer. Obviously we often pray for things outside our control. We are people with limited resources and abilities.

At times though we pray about problems which we can and are able to be a part of the solution. The test of the faithfulness of prayer is if we have been praying and God offers us a chance to take part in the solution for which we are praying-do we grasp it?

You see at many times in the Christian life it becomes very easy to move through the motions. Prayer can easily become a habit with no meaning or sincerity behind it.

When we pray about things that intersect with our life in even a small way we should look to see if we may be part of the solution for what we are praying for. You see maybe the issue was too big for us yesterday, or we had no idea how to proceed, but today God has opened the door for us to solve the problem.

You see it is not mankind that solves problems ultimately but God. If we pray but do not consider how we may be part of the solutions to the problems in our prayers then we have not really prayed with any sincerity.

Too often prayer in the world today is an excuse for inaction. If I spend a few minutes praying then I have cared for the issue. You see the error is that true prayer is based on love and desires the result prayed for and will always consider that if it is possible for us to solve the problem we will.

It is often not in our power but if we pray in truth we must be open to solve the problems if God opens doors for us.

Satisfaction and Contentment

In life we could always hope for more. The human heart is a limitless chasm of desire.

It is always this or that which the heart believes will make it happy. The heart has infinite wants of which the world has not the quantity of any good thing to supply.

It is of course that we need God. God is what is meant to fill the hole in our hearts. There are many good things in the world, all of them pleasant, but none can adequately fill the gap in the human heart.

God can fill the gap in our hearts. And we find that living our life unto God, the pleasures in the world are increased and not diminished.

It is always one of the most pervasive lies of the human heart to doubt that God has our best interest in mind. If we look to the cross we see that God does have our interests in mind even at a cost to himself.

John Piper Quote on "The Reason God is Proud to Be Our God"

John Piper Quote of the Day at Desiring God:

"The reason God is proud to be our God is not because we have accomplished something so great. But because he has accomplished something great, and we desire it."

(A Godward Life Volume Two, pg. 172)"