Pray and Work

October 3, 2008

Bible Reading: So I intend always to remind you about these things, although indeed you know them and are firm in the truth that [you] now [hold]. ~ 2 St. Peter 1:12 (Amplified Bible)
Bonus Readings: Philippians 4; Psalm 40:5; Psalm 78:4

Some time back, a colleague I know of wanted to deepen his faith and so stopped receiving a regular paycheck and started living, as we sometimes say, “on faith”— as if all of life isn’t lived on some sort of faith. That’s a “no-brainer” to anyone who has even a rudimentary understanding of how delicate our lives—and security—truly are. The truth is, we have no control—we always live by faith. However, we may not talk about it enough. More about that later.

Soon this man found himself believing, with an absolute certainty, that God would provide. It was a rock-solid conviction, a certainty that it would happen—far different from the tentative “I hope it will happen” belief I have at other times mistaken for Biblical faith. He had seen that principle of faith in operation, primarily because he stepped out in expectation, and started looking for His provision—even keeping a log of everything God gave his family. The list was impressive.

Yet within a few months he became staggered with doubt. He’d lost focus, or at least his focus on God, and started scrambling for ways to generate income. He started believing, again, that it was his responsibility to make things happen, that God may or may not come through. He was partially right.

What he learned was he did have a responsibility to make something happen. He had a responsibility to do what the Word said. Live the Summary of the Law. Place his Christian brothers and sisters ahead of himself. Serve his master on Earth as he would the Lord Himself. In short, he had to live out the old Benedictine axiom: pray and work. God takes care of the details. What truth!

This calls to mind a faithful parishioner and friend from our parish in Athens, Texas. This remarkable woman might be considered poor by some—she drives an old car, lives in a very small, somewhat run-down apartment in an old section of the town. Doesn’t make a lot of money. Yet she loves and trusts God and puts His Kingdom first in all that she does, living out that basic truth. Does she have days she wonders how He will provide for her? Certainly. But she rests in the knowledge He will keep His word and walks with that expectation—and that assurance makes her far richer than many with more of what the World calls “means.” In fact, she is characterized by the joy and peace that surround her—she is a delight! And, just so you know, God provides all her needs—wonderfully, and, sometimes, miraculously.
Maybe you have experienced exactly what I’m describing.

Could it be that we forgot what we believed? C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, says you will never talk a man out of his faith, never debate him out of his beliefs—but what can happen is that he’ll slowly, imperceptibly at first, forget what he believes.

And then he’ll begin to act upon that lack of belief.

It may be that the Apostle Peter understood this tendency toward a forgetful faith. He told the early Church, “I plan to keep on reminding you of these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth.” (2 St. Peter 1:12, NLT)

Even though they already were standing on the truth, St. Peter saw it as necessary to remind them of their beliefs, that “on Christ the solid rock” they stood. They just need a breakthrough … a chance to ask Him to provide and see it happen, as our parishioner in Athens does.

That’s how we all make it through our faith journey—we keep telling each other our stories of how God works in our lives and, thereby, remind ourselves and each other of what God has done—and will continue to do in our midst. Are we doing that?

Contemplative Prayer: Holy Spirit, please show me how to take action to remind and encourage my brothers and sisters about the Father’s provision for all our lives—not just the crises!

Take some action:

God’s provision list—Think over the past few years and make a list of all the ways God has provided for you. Praise God for his provision, and then share your list with others, maybe even writing an Epistle article about it.
Ask about God’s provision—Ask others to tell you how God has provided for them. Listen expectantly to how our awesome God works within our lives and encourage your friends to remember their own God-stories. Praise Him some more, while you’re at it!
Log answered prayers—Several years ago, a survey suggested that one of the reasons high school students did not believe in prayer is because they never saw any prayers answered. Create a simple log of your prayer requests, and then go back over it frequently to note how God answered the prayers. Often our prayers are answered, but we don’t notice because we’ve moved on to other concerns.
Provision anniversary—Think about the most significant provisions God has made in your life. Select one and start an anniversary celebration to commemorate the provision each year. Essentially, that’s why many holidays are celebrated every year. It allows for an annual re-telling of God’s work in our lives.

All love in the Beloved,

Chip+

Posted by Father Chip | Filed Under Devotionals