Prayer Leads to Action

Prayer Leads to Action Written by Ashley Ashcraft “I’ll be praying for you.” How easily we say this! When someone is going through a difficult time, it’s often our first reaction to offer prayer. Which—don’t get me wrong—is a great response (if we’ll actually do it!). But oftentimes we only focus on the “spiritual” aspect of a need as if it is somehow more important, or more holy. We’ll be willing to pray, but not always willing to act when what we really need to do is get down to brass tacks and help take care of some things. Are we simply going to pray for God to meet a need, or are we going to allow ourselves to be the instrument through which God meets that need? In John 5, Jesus speaks to a man at the pool of Bethesda and tells him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” In this instance, we see Jesus’ care for this man’s physical needs—not being able to walk, and therefore not being able to care for himself, keep a job, etc. And this is just one example of many. In the Gospels, we consistently see Jesus, in an overflow of his love and compassion, meet not only people's spiritual needs, but also their physical needs.