“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James 2:26
As a child of the 1950’s, I often accompanied my family on cross-country trips, before, during and after the development of America’s amazing Interstate Highway System. The path of our car would wind its way along clogged, two lane roads, through tiny towns. All along our route, there were traffic jams, while cars were halted. Huge mounds of red clay were in the process of being moved, by massive bulldozers and road graders.
The foundation of the highway of the future was mapped out, but until the work was done, life came to a standstill. The one confusing sign I would read as we crawled through town after town was, “SLOW MEN AT WORK!” As we pulled up closer to the sign, and seeing men leaning on their shovels, I would blurt out, “Why don’t they hire some fast men?”
The Book of James reminds me that faith is not just a noun. It is also a verb. Faith is not just an intellectual belief that I hold. It is a passionate conviction that has taken hold of me. Believing prayer transforms my faith into a passionate conviction, moving it from my head, to my heart, while bending my knees, and my will.
When you pray, you show signs of life. The only way for prayer to be unable to work is for you to refuse to pray. Jesus told His disciples to ask. Prayer is no more complicated than that.
“So that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. “ John 15:16
You may lead or attend a death defying church. Just because it exists does not mean that it is alive. A body of believers is not life giving, until it carries out the same work as The Founder of the church.
Jesus prayed while on earth. In Heaven, seated at the right hand of The Father. He continues to intercede for His church. When you follow Jesus, you either enter into a life of prayer, or you become lifeless. The Body of Christ is either a praying church, or it is a headless corpse, not a living body.
Note to Self: Believing prayer is a sign of your living faith. When you stop praying, you stop believing. Eventually, you stop working, and living. Bending your knees and your will, are vital signs of your living faith, and prepare you for the work that matters, intercession. Jesus did it. He still does it. He has called you to it. When you are prayerless, you are leaning on your shovel, and drifting off course into a spiritual coma. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!