WEEK 5: and… ACTION!
BIG IDEA: God never separates prayer from action in the Bible
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him…. 25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” —Matthew 6:7–8, 25-34
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. —2 Thessalonians 3:10
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. —Ephesians 4:28
FINANCIAL PRAYER: “God, money is tight, inflation is rampant, and I’m scared. Please help me keep a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food on the table.”
ACTION 1: Cut costs with a written budget (Stop spending like your identity or your happiness is tied to your stuff!)
PRAYER 1: “God help me have supernatural contentment with what I have. Help me rest in Your approval of me so I stop purchasing to gain approval from fickle people I don’t even like. God, help me have supernatural self-control so I stop spending according to every impulse.”
ACTION 2: Increase income – Extra hours, Education, Entrepreneurship
PRAYER 2: “God, give me wisdom on the opportunities I should take. Give me courage to take calculated risks. Give me humility to find and trust wise advisers. Give me the tenacity to persist in unpleasant toil or study. God, give me the joy to persist in unpleasant toil or study without being a source of misery for everyone around me. Give me supernatural perception to see ways to solve problems and to add value.”
DATING Prayer: “God, help me find someone to love and who will love me. I don’t want to go through life alone.”
ACTION 1: Get your own individual faith and life in order
PRAYER 1: “God, make me into the kind of person the kind of person I want to marry would like to marry. Make me into the type of person You want to gift to one of Your other children.”
ACTION 2: Break off romantic relationships with anyone who is not tangibly, actively, practically pursuing Christ and His Kingdom (Flee the C.I.N.O.!)
PRAYER 2: “God, help me walk securely in my identity in Christ. I am loved and approved by You. Let that be enough so I don’t crush another person with my neediness or desperation.”
ACTION 3: HUNT!!!
PRAYER 3: “God, give me discernment, patience, wisdom, and self-control as I seek out an intimate ally to strengthen the ministry to which you have called me.”
PARENTING Prayer: “God, I pray that my kids will follow You and order their lives according to a trusting, obedient, loyal faith. I pray that they would love You, Your Kingdom, Your Word, and Your Church. I pray that they would lead fruitful lives that solve real-world problems and lead many others to a saving loyal relationship with You.”
ACTION 1: PRIORITIZE Church Engagement (That’s more than mere attendance)
PRAYER 1: “God, make me into a tangible example of what it truly looks like to follow Christ so that my child doesn’t have to go find that example beyond the walls of our home. Help me to see and to schedule what is most important for this life and the next.”
ACTION 2: Teach your kids how to trust, obey and understand Christ in every circumstance at home, work, and play throughout the week
PRAYER 2: “God, give me patience and understanding as I grow in my own understanding and ability to follow You and to train my children for the life you’ve called them to live.”
CONCLUSION: Pray like everything depends on God, and then work like everything depends on you you are the God-empowered answer to your prayer
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 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? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. —James 2:15–18
