Prayer

As I write this, the impoverished Island Nation of Haiti is experiencing the devastating effects of a major earthquake. The Haitians are in desperate need of help and hope. Many Christians are calling for prayer, which obviously is important, but I just read a facebook post from an agnostic friend of mine that truly convicted me. He wrote that Christians seem to be rallying to prayer as a way of feeling better about not doing anything. He suggested the practical alternative of sending money instead of sending prayers.

As a follower of Christ, I wholeheartedly believe in the world-changing power of prayer, but I must also admit that we Christians have too often used prayer as a substitute for rolling up our sleeves and making any form of real sacrafice. Our prayers should realign our minds with the mind of God and rally us to revolutionary action. Our prayers should chase away our selfish motives and replace them with Kingdom-minded agendas. Our prayers should open up our hearts (and our wallets) to the greatest needs in this broken world.

The world says show me action, not prayer. The Church says, show me prayer, not action. God says, "Show me BOTH!"