Tag: passive

Passive Prayer

Carl Pollard

Far too often we believe (or act) as though once we pray about something, we don’t have to do anything more. It’s almost as if we see devotion to God and helping others as being mutually exclusive. We will pray for someone who is hurting, sick, or hungry and then do nothing more. Jesus prayed often, for long periods of time, but He was never passive. He didn’t separate faith from action. Jesus would pray, then heal. He believed, then acted. He would preach, then live what He taught. 

Why do we think it would be any different? 

Could it be that we are the answer to our prayers more often than we realize? Maybe we are the ones to comfort those who are mourning. Maybe we are the ones who are supposed to feed the hungry. Maybe we are the ones who need to study with the lost. 

It’s important we pray for others, but we cannot be passive and expect our prayers to be answered. 

Jesus warned against being passive. 

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus is teaching about the final judgment we will all face in the end. 

Notice how Jesus rejects those who aren’t concerned for the physical well-being of others. He will have nothing to do with Christians who fail to have an active prayer life. Verses 33-40 say, “And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” 

A prayer by itself won’t clothe someone. 

Prayer by itself won’t fill an empty stomach

A prayer with no action will never give someone a drink. Jesus accepts those who DO SOMETHING. Prayer should open our eyes to the needs of those around us. If we have a say in the matter, if we have the ability to change someone’s circumstances WE ARE THE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS. 

Then, in verses 41-46, Jesus says, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”“

Jesus will reject a spirituality that is not concerned for the tangible needs of those around us. People matter to God, so much so that our eternity depends on how we care for anyone we may meet. Don’t get me wrong, God expects us to pray for others (Jesus’ example of prayer included praying for our enemies and those we love), but He also expects us to be His hands and feet. 

James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Unfortunately, we often use prayer as a substitute for action. In fact, it sounds so spiritual to say that we will pray about it; but highly hypocritical to have the tools and resources to do something about it but not act. Wives, how would you feel if you went to your husbands and asked them to put together that piece of furniture you bought from the store and they answered by saying, “I’ll be praying about it.” Maybe you need the oil changed on your car and they say, “I’ll definitely be praying that gets taken care of.” How frustrating would that be? 

At some point our prayers should open our eyes to the works we should be doing!

Like Jesus, we should pray as though it all depended on God, but act responsibly and obediently as though it all depended on us.

He prayed over big decisions, then did something. In His prayers, He was never passive. We would do well to imitate His example! 

Jesus Did It

Gary Pollard

Colossians 2.11ff teaches us that Jewish customs from the old system are no longer valid. Our relationship with Jesus was initiated in a totally different way. No flint knives were necessary — he made us his special people by freeing us from the power of our sinful selves. Rather than going through a painful procedure, we go through the painless act of immersion. Immersion buries us with Jesus and allows us to access the same resurrection he did. Our faith in God’s power makes that possible. 

Notice the emphasis in Col 2.11-15 on the passive nature of our forgiveness! Judaism was all about doing stuff for the purpose of being forgiven of bad actions. The whole purpose of the old law was to show us that we’re incapable of working off our existential debt. We are completely powerless by ourselves. 

Verse 11 — not done by human hands, you were made free, this is circumcision Christ does

Verse 12 — you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, you were raised up, God raised Christ

Verse 13 — you were spiritually dead, you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God gave you new life together with Christ, he forgave all of our sins

Verse 14 — we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt, God forgave that debt, God nailed that debt to the cross

Verse 15 — God defeated the ancient ruling powers of earth through the cross, they are now defeated and powerless prisoners 

God was and is responsible for our status. We can’t dig ourselves out of any sin-debt, but he can and does forgive. God’s grace through Jesus’s sacrifice is how we’re immortal! 

Praying Like Christ

Carl Pollard

Very clearly seen in His ministry, Jesus believed that prayer worked. He realized the effectiveness and power of prayer. Because of this, He had an intimate relationship with the Father. Before He came to this earth, He was close to the Father. He refused to let His flesh separate Him from God. He had a desire to spend time with the Father. 

Sometimes, our motivation to pray is put out because we doubt that our prayers will work or make a difference. I for one have gone through periods of time where I failed to pray as I should, solely because of doubt. 

This is straight from the mouth of Satan. What better way to weaken our faith than to place doubt in our minds in the Creator to which we pray through the Son? 

What happens is we get this view of prayer that its all about the prayer requests. Not that it’s wrong to ask God for help, or pray for the sick, but all too often we see prayer as a help wanted billboard. We miss the point of prayer if this is all we see it as! Prayer is about talking with our Father, building and maintaining our relationship with our Savior! 

How close would you be to your physical father if the only reason you called him and talked to him was to ask for favors? Prayer is all about connection. If we reduce prayer to nothing more than asking for things, we have failed to pray like Christ. 

Making requests is one of the many needed aspects of prayer. It is true that Jesus spoke confidently to God, and requested things. 

God is more than willing to answer His obedient children. James tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is effective. Jesus believed and acted on the confidence that God would answer or hear His prayers. We need to understand the heart and mind of Christ if we are to imitate His prayer life. 

Jesus Was Not Passive. Far too often we believe (or act) as though once we pray about something, we don’t have to do anything more. It’s almost as if we see devotion to God and helping others as being mutually exclusive. We will pray for someone who is hurting, sick, or hungry and then do nothing more. Jesus prayed often, for long periods of time, but He was never passive. He didn’t separate faith from action. Jesus would pray, then heal. He believed, then acted. He would preach, then live what He taught. Why do we think it would be any different? Could it be that we are the answer to our prayers more often than we realize? 

Maybe we are the ones to comfort those who are mourning. Maybe we are the ones who are supposed to feed the hungry. Maybe we are the ones who need to study with the lost. It’s important we pray for others, but we cannot be passive and expect our prayers to be answered. 

Jesus warned against being passive in Matthew 25:31-46. Jesus is teaching about the final judgment we will all face in the end. 

Notice how Jesus rejects those who aren’t concerned for the physical wellbeing of others. He will have nothing to do with Christian’s who fail to have an active prayer life (33-40). A prayer by itself won’t clothe someone. Prayer by itself won’t fill an empty stomach. A prayer with no action will never give someone a drink. Jesus accepts those who DO SOMETHING. Prayer should open our eyes to the needs of those around us. 

If we have a say in the matter, if we have the ability to change someone’s circumstances WE ARE THE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS. 

Jesus will reject a spirituality that is not concerned for the tangible needs of those around us. People matter to God. So much so that our eternity depends on how we care for anyone we may meet. Don’t get me wrong, God expects us to pray for others (Jesus’ example of prayer included praying for our enemies, and those we love), but He also expects us to be His hands and feet. 

James 2:14-17, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Unfortunately, we often use prayer as a substitute for action. In fact, it sounds so spiritual to say that we will pray about it; but highly hypocritical to have the tools and resources to do something about it but not act. Wives, how would you feel if you went to your husbands and asked them to put together that piece of furniture you bought from the store and they answered by saying “I’ll be praying about it.” Maybe you need the oil changed on your car and they say, “I’ll definitely be praying that gets taken care of.” How frustrating would that be? 

At some point our prayers should open our eyes to the works we should be doing! Like Jesus, we should pray as though it all depended on God, but act responsibly and obediently as though it all depended on us.