
When disaster strikes, whether natural or manmade, one of the most common platitudes we hear thereafter is, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
In the past several years the expression has seen a bit of backlash. Mainly because the people who say it have turned it into an empty,
To be fair, some of the backlash comes
Give you an example. One of the United States’
I mean, functionally it’s the same as when James
James 2.14-17 KWL - 14 What’s the point, my fellow Christians, when anyone claims to have faith and takes no action?
- This “faith” doesn’t save them.
- 15 When a Christian brother or sister becomes destitute, lacks daily food,
- 16 and one of you tells them, “Go in peace! May you be warm and fed,”
- and doesn’t give them anything useful for their body, what’s the point?
- 17 This “faith,” when it takes no action, is dead to the core.
Our “thoughts and prayers” frequently aren’t any different than wishing the needy well, but doing nothing to make ’em less needy. Sometimes out of our own laziness,
If our thoughts and prayers do nothing, our faith is dead.
Prayer must transform the petitioner.
When we’re
Yeah,
Luke 18.1-8 KWL - 1 Jesus was telling them a parable about their need to always pray and never despair,
- 2 saying, “Some judge in some city had no respect for God, no regard for people.
- 3 A widow was in that city, and came to him saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’
- 4 He didn’t want to, at the time.
- After this, he told himself, ‘Though I neither respect God nor regard people,
- 5 because this woman’s really giving me trouble, I’ll defend her so she’ll quit coming to bother me!’ ”
- 6 Master Jesus said, “Listen to what this wrong-headed judge says!
- 7 As for God: Won’t he defend his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?
- Will he put up with their cries? 8 I tell you he’ll quickly defend them.
- But will the Son of Man find faith on earth at his second coming?”
But God’s actions aside, we oughta also see the petitioners act.
You wanna see change? Well God’s made us the agents of his change. If we see hungry people, we’re not to respond, “Aww; I hope God feeds you.” We’re to feed ’em.
Often that’s the Holy Spirit’s very answer to our prayers. “You really want justice done? About time; so do I. I’m sending you to go do something about it.” Just like he sent Moses to Egypt to go free his people. Problem is, we balk exactly like Moses.
Exodus 4.10-17 KWL - 10 Moses told the L
ORD , “My Master, I’m not a man of words. - Not yesterday, not in the past, nor now that you speak to me your slave.
- For I have a heavy mouth and heavy tongue.”
- 11 The L
ORD told Moses, “Who installed Adam’s mouth? - Who makes one mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Isn’t it I, the L
ORD ? - 12 Now go. I’m with your mouth. I taught you what to speak.”
- 13 Moses told the L
ORD , “Please send, send a different hand.” - 14 The L
ORD ’s nose burned at Moses, and he said, “Isn’t Aaron your brother? The Levite? - I know he can speak my message.
- Look, he’s coming to meet you. When he sees you he’ll rejoice in his heart.
- 15 Speak to him. Put the words in his mouth.
- I’m with your mouth and his mouth, and will show you both what to do.
- 16 He speaks for you to the Hebrews.
- That’s him. He’s your mouth. You’re his ‘god.’
- 17 And take this staff in your hand. Do the miracles with it.”
But unlike Moses, who finally did act and freed his people, we pretend we heard nothing, or assume God’s call is our delusion. So we do nothing.
It’s that lack of faith and action which really frosts the critics. Even pagans know how prayer’s supposed to work: Praying Christians oughta be active Christians, not passive. When we’re passive, they realize something’s inconsistent and wrong with us.
At the very least, a Christian who’s praying for the needy, yet doing nothing because they’re not entirely sure they oughta do anything, oughta be more compassionate. Oughta mourn with those who mourn, comfort those who suffer, listen to them vent and rage and cry, and not just throw paper towels at ’em. After all, aren’t they crying out to God for help? Shouldn’t some of that concern overflow into their daily actions? Yet if we see nothing (sometimes because their misplaced machismo won’t let ’em publicly reveal their emotions), we realize something’s awry. Every expert hypocrite knows they need to fake sympathy, at the very least.
So when Christians truly are thinking and praying for the needy, we oughta see it in them. If we can’t, they likely aren’t.

