LIVING AS WE PRAY


Someone as said, "Pray as if everything depended upon God; work as if everything depended upon you." Perhaps you have heard the story of the two boys who were late to school. As they were running to school, the first boy said, "Let's stop and pray." The second boy said, "No, let's pray as we run." To pray and then sit and twiddle our thumbs is hypocrisy, and to work and never bow our heads in prayer is haughtiness. We must live as we pray.

The Bible teaches that we should pray for . . .

  1. Our LEADERS
    1. 1 Timothy 2:1-6
      1. That we may live in PEACE in all GODLINESS
      2. Because God desires ALL men to be saved
    2. Romans 13:1-2, 7 We should obey the LAWS of the LAND
      1. Matthew 22:21 we must give Caesar his DUE
      2. Acts 5:29 but we must obey GOD before we obey MEN


  2. Our BREAD
    1. Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread"
    2. Our food is a GIFT from God
      1. Matthew 6:25-33
      2. Acts 17:25
    3. But this prayer is answered when we go to our jobs.
      1. It is not answered by playing the lottery, or by standing on a street corner, holding a sign that says, "I will work for food."
      2. Acts 20:33-34 God expects able-bodied folks to WORK
        1. Gen 3:19 in the sweat of his face Adam would eat bread
        2. 1 Thessalonians 4:11
        3. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 "if any will not WORK, neither should he EAT"


  1. WISDOM: James 1:5
    1. Proverbs 2:6 the LORD giveth wisdom
    2. Proverbs 3:13 HAPPY is the man that getteth wisdom
    3. Proverbs 9:10 the fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom
    4. Proverbs 4:5, 7 wisdom must be PURSUED


  2. Those SUFFERING:
    1. PERSONAL afflictions
      1. James 5:13 "Is any among you suffering? Let him pray."
      2. it is foolish not to see a doctor when we are sick
        1. Luke 5:32
        2. 1 Timothy 5:23 One who is sick may require medicine
    2. The afflictions of OTHERS
      1. James 5:14-15
      2. Matthew 25:31-46


  3. LABORERS to reap the HARVEST of SOULS- Matthew 9:36-38
    1. While we pray for laborers, we must also labor to win souls
      1. Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47 "Go ye . . ."
      2. Acts 8:4 they went EVERYWHERE preaching the word
      3. Acts 17:6 the early Christians turned the world upside down
      4. Proverbs 11:30 He who WINS SOULS is wise

Living As I Pray

I knelt to pray when day was done

And prayed, "O Lord, bless everyone.

Lift from each and every heart its pain,

And let the sick be well again."

And then I woke the following day

And carelessly went on my merry way.

The whole day long I did not try

To wipe a tear from any eye.

I did not try to share the load

Of any brother on the road.

I did not even go to see

The sick man just next door to me.

Yet, once again when day was done

I prayed, "O Lord bless everyone."

But as I prayed, there came quite clear

A voice that whispered in my ear,

"Thou hypocrite! Stop before you pray.

Ask thyself 'Whom have I tried to bless today?'

God's sweetest blessings always go

By hands that serve Him here below."

And then, I hid my face and cried,

"Forgive me, God, for I have lied.

Let me but live one more day

And I will live the way I pray."

May God help us to live as we pray!

Living As I Pray

I knelt to pray when day was done

And prayed, "O Lord, bless everyone.

Lift from each and every heart its pain,

And let the sick be well again."

And then I woke the following day

And carelessly went on my merry way.

The whole day long I did not try

To wipe a tear from any eye.

I did not try to share the load

Of any brother on the road.

I did not even go to see

The sick man just next door to me.

Yet, once again when day was done

I prayed, "O Lord bless everyone."

But as I prayed, there came quite clear

A voice that whispered in my ear,

"Thou hypocrite! Stop before you pray.

Ask thyself 'Whom have I tried to bless today?'

God's sweetest blessings always go

By hands that serve Him here below."

And then, I hid my face and cried,

"Forgive me, God, for I have lied.

Let me but live one more day

And I will live the way I pray."

May God help us to live as we pray!