Praying and Working

They may seem a bit juxtaposed to one another, but prayer and working are quite unified the deeper we look.  For years I was of the mindset that if I really believed God I would pray more and do less.  Lately I have been convinced though just how much more united these aspects of our Christian life/ministry really are.  If any of us ever believes our work is more powerful than prayer, we are every bit clueless and/or arrogant.  But then there is that danger that we almost stand secluded in a rather monastic way of life, earnestly seeking God in prayer, but then doing nothing else by way of "works."  Do we then really believe?  I have almost bought the lie that if I was to engage in work, I was somehow diminishing the work of God, the faith in Him that through prayer I had been so intently offering up. 

But note: God everywhere delights to use people, even the people praying, for things before them that only He can do.  To show the magnificence of His power, might, ability, He includes them even in and as a part of an answer to what they ask.  Moses seeks the face of God for deliverance of his people, and God uses him. David constantly pleads with the Lord for the deliverance of his people, and God uses Him.  Paul prayed for the eyes of people to be opened to the reality of who Christ is, and so he proclaimed the gospel.  And over and over again this is the refrain in Scripture.  

Prayer and work are only at odds with one another when our work is done apart from prayer, or an attitude of faith.  We are prone to this far too often.  And at the same time, prayer is at odds with works when our attitude of prayer is so seemingly pious, but we aren't really engaged in faith because we are unwilling to do any bit of sacrifice, hard work, because we esteem ourselves "too spiritual" for such tasks.  It is these who view prayer as more spiritual or at a higher level than such menial tasks.

Prayer and work come together where we realize God's delight has always been to involve humans to do what for us is impossible.  Our efforts to work and labor for the gospel is evidence we really believe God is at work, and delights to involve us in this work that we are equally burdened to pray about.  And so we need to increasingly see it as His aim to call our hearts to know Him intimately in the sacrifice of prayer, but that His answer to such prayers likely involves our activity in a means that calls us out of the quiet place, into the chaos of the world around us, where through us, He does what is impossible and makes Christ known.