In James 2:26 we read, ‘faith without works is dead.’
Have we ever been guilty of saying ‘I’ll pray for you’ and then forgetting to do so.? It’s easily done but then when we forget to pray for that person is like breaking a promise to God. We know the importance of prayer, we know it’s power. But a promise is a promise; it should never be broken.
Every Monday evening I pray for a work when my church feeds the homeless and those with addictions. If I fail to pray on Monday the guests and leaders would never know but I would know and God would know. This is a work that the church has been doing for over ten years and it has been built up and prospered by prayer. But prayer alone doesn’t help our visitors. It is equally important for the work to be done. It involves those who buy and prepare the food, those who prepare the rooms, those who wait on the guests, those who give a talk, witness or provide the music. It also involves those who wash up and tidy up.
If the work is done without the prayer it is merely being a do-gooder. Christ requires both from us.