I Will Pray For You

This is what some will say when they hear of a need.... especially in a church context, where I am concerned.

I will pray for you....

Prayer is important. It's a direct line to God which more often than never resuscitates our soul. It is a privilege cos it implies that we are children of God and we can go to our Father. Prayer also indicates our Father's accessibility. We can go to Him anytime through prayer. Prayer is also a deterrent for us to commit sins... cos somehow that awareness of sin is enhanced if we pray often. Prayer is a reminder of our need to confess for each wrong that we commit. So prayer is important... because it's a conversation between us and God.

But imagine this... a church friend undergoes a bad patch in her marriage. Her husband leaves her for another lady. She becomes a single mom overnight, no job, three kids to feed and bills to pay. She goes to the only place she knows she'll find solace and perhaps help. She needs real help.. someone to offer babysit her children temporarily while she goes out and work. Someone to sometimes bring her some food now that the equilibrium in her life has gone haywire... someone to maybe, offer her some financial assistance... all real actions which are very much needed during this tempest of hers!

What do we do? Do we say 'we'll pray for you'? You see, very often we do just that... offer our words of support but not supported by real actions. Comfortable we are that we do not want to rock our own boats for others... oh! we continue to serve in the church, organising events, arranging worship, leading prayer meets.. in short, doing all the 'holy' stuff. But sometimes, I think the holy stuff becomes 'hole-y' cos we do not see to the immediate and real needs of the flock.. somehow these last few weeks, this has been bugging me.

God says.. Feed My people.... I Will Pray For You... while it intercedes for those in need, I'm sure God is also telling us to see to those needs too.... not just pray for Him to send someone to see to those needs. Kinda reminded me of what was said by Daniel Kim over the pulpit the other day... 3% of resources channeled towards the work in the fields.. very much like us... 3% of the people actually getting their hands 'dirty' for God's work. Faith should translate to action... not just words. Faith with just words sounds so hollow.