Prayer vs. Action

I was saying prayers with my daughter the other night, when she said…

“Dear Lord,
Please help me to stop cracking my knuckles.”

She paused for a minute, then added,

“I know I can pray all I want, God, but if I don’t do my part, it’s not going to happen. So please help me to do my part too.”

Her prayer reminded me of that saying…

Pray like everything depends on God, then act like everything depends on you.

And I think it’s true. We can cry out to God for help in any area of our lives—and we should—but if we don’t do our part to make changes or act on what we are needing help with, we will likely be frustrated with the results. Or lack of.

My daughter’s prayer was an important reminder for me to not only ask God for help, but to also ask him to help me to do my part.

No matter what we’re facing in our lives—whether we need help finding a job, making health changes, improving relationships, or anything else, if we don’t do our part, we might miss God’s answers, and his plans for us.

He can give us wisdom in what job to pursue, and He can give us strength in the interview process, but if we don’t get out there and prepare ourselves and look for jobs, nothing may happen.

He can help us to make healthy choices about food and exercise, and put people in our lives that will support us, but if we don’t love ourselves and take action to make the choices stick, they likely won’t.

He can give us opportunities to heal our relationships—to reach out, to forgive, to love unconditionally—but if we chose resentment instead, those relationships will still suffer.

So the next time you’re in need of help, no matter what you need help for, remember to do your part too. And never forget:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

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