PRAYER -- HIS PART AND OURS . . .

PRAYER -- HIS PART AND OURS . . .

"Then Isaiah said, 'Prepare a poultice of figs.' They did so and applied
it to the boil, and he recovered." 2 Kings 20:7

"I would have you understand that prayer must be accompanied by means.
It is an outrage to ask God to do a thing while we sit passively.
Prayer, to be acceptable, must come not only from the heart, but from
the hands. We must work while we pray -- devotion and work going
together. Martin Luther cam to his dying friend's beside and prayed for
his recovery, and insisted, at the same time, that he should take some
warm soup, the soup being just as important as the prayer.

In the time of the great plague that came to England, the priests prayed
all day and all night for the removal of the plague, but didn't think of
clearing out the dead dogs and cats that lay in the gutters causing the
sickness. We must use means as well as supplication.

If a man prays for good health, and then sits down to a full supper of
indigestibles at eleven o'clock at night, his prayer is a mockery. A man
has no right to pray for the safety of his family when he knows there is
no cover for his cistern.

The Christian man, reckless about his health, ought not to expect the
same answer to his prayer as the Christian man who retires regularly at
a reasonable hour and practices good hygiene. Paul said to the
passengers of the Alexandrian corn-ship that they would get safely
ashore, but he told them that they must use means, and that was, 'Stick
to the old ship!'

God is not weak, needing our help, but God is strong and asks us to
cooperate with him that we may be strong too. Pray by all means, but
don't forget the fig-poultice . . . Sometimes, we know full well what to
do, but we continue to pray, asking God to do what we know we should do.
As you pray, always be asking God, 'Is there a fig-poultice for this
situation?' If the answer is yes, then do what you know you must."
adapted from MAGNIFICENT PRAYER -- 366 Devotions to Deepen Your Prayer
Experience by Nick Harrison -- published by Zondervan.

"See that you do not use the trick of prayer to cover up what you know
YOU ought to do." -- Oswald Chambers