Pray First, Act Second
August 27, 2019
The other day I was thinking about a saying I used in days gone by. “If you can’t do anything else, at least you can pray.” It was my way of telling myself that I was not completely powerless. I had one last option when none of the other options worked. It was innocent enough, but it is time for me to purge this out of my vocabulary. Prayer is never my last resort. It should be my first option!
I wonder how my life would be different if I had made it a habit to pray first, before I took any action. Doesn’t it make sense to seek the wisdom of God first? Pray first, then act? Pray first, then send that text message. Pray first, then make that phone call. Pray first, then apply for that job.
When I act before I pray, I only tap into one source of knowledge/information/wisdom: me.
When I pray first, I have another source of wisdom. As King Solomon put it in Proverbs 3:5-6:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)
When I have the presence of mind to pray first, I pray for wisdom. I pray for the truth to come out in the situation. I pray for favor from both God and man. When I pray first, wisdom prevails - if I trust the answer I get from God. The wisdom I get is simple, everyday practical bits of wisdom. Sometimes, wisdom is not sending the text message at all. Or deleting that photo. Or waiting until tomorrow to buy that pair of shoes. When I pray before I get ready to send an email at work, I usually make better wording choices. (But not always, just ask my boss.)
How do I know it is from God? You will know if you do this often enough. God is talking to us all the time. And He is happy to supply us with all the wisdom we ask for. James 1:5-6 tells us how God feels about being asked for wisdom:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting. (NKJV)
There is another saying out there. “If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, you don’t have time to redo.” I may think I am too busy to pray over the little decisions of life, but I have discovered that seeking God’s wisdom first saves a lot of time, effort, and heartache. My new saying: “Pray before you do anything else.”
This is the first post in our ongoing series on prayer. Click here for the second post, “Don’t Give Up!”, and here for the third post, “Boosting Prayer with Meditation”. Thank you for following along!
