What Does God Think About Prayer?

One of the most counter-intuitive moments in scripture is when the children of Israel are trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea. The people were panicked, angry at Moses for getting them in the mess and were yelling, asking why he had them escape slavery, just to die. They were sarcastically proclaiming, they would have rather stayed slaves in Egypt than be slaughtered in the desert.

It had to be a frustrating “leadership moment” for Moses.

With the angry crowd all around their leader, Moses gives some advice which seems right initially, but he gets it totally wrong. He tells them, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today.”

Sounds like good wisdom, doesn’t it? We hear this preached all the time.

“Don’t be afraid. Stand still and watch the LORD restore your broken world.”

“Don’t be afraid. Stand still and watch the LORD take care of the poor.”

“Don’t be afraid. Stand still and watch the LORD take care of your needs.”

Those phrases sound wise, but this was God’s quick response to Moses’ advice to stand still: “Why are you crying out to me? Quit praying and tell the people to get moving!”

Now I grew up in church and I never heard one sermon where the pastor told us to quit praying. In fact it seemed like all we did was pray.

We prayed for Jesus to come back.

We prayed evil people would get their due.

We prayed we would not get stained by an immoral world.

We prayed for who would become president.

We prayed God would bless us financially.

We prayed other denominations would become holy like we were.

We even prayed for people less fortunate than us.

We prayed, went home for a week, and then came back and prayed again.

We prayed often, and with eloquence.

Our church would have won a prayer contest.

We even had a chapel called the “House of Prayer.”

Yet over the years, I have learned there is tremendous wisdom to God’s exhortation for Moses to “quit praying.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for prayer. I am desperate for prayer!

Prayer is where I gain my intimacy with God.

Prayer is where I get the power to live.

Prayer is where I gain wisdom.

Prayer is where I find peace.

Prayer is where I experience rest.

Prayer is the foundation to my faith.

So why is there wisdom in God telling Moses to quit praying and get moving? Here is my theory and I think it’s a pretty good one.

Many times prayer is an excuse to not do something we know God has already told us to do. There are many things we don’t have to pray about.

Serving the poor.

Caring for orphans.

Taking care of widows.

Being a father to the fatherless.

Feeding the hungry.

Providing clean water.

Sheltering the homeless.

Clothing the naked.

Forgiving our enemy.

Rescuing young women and children who have been sex trafficked.

Fighting injustice.

These are things we don’t have to pray and ask whether it’s God’s will. In fact, it is possible to actually pray more while moving further and further away from God.

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said, “When you lift your hands in prayer, I will not look at you. No matter how much you pray, I will not listen…See that justice is done—help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.”

This may be blasphemy, but I would like to challenge the American church to pray less and do more.

Get out of your prayer meetings and go help someone.

Leave your worship services and feed someone.

Stop praying for the poor and invite the homeless into your services.

Cancel your women’s teas and men’s breakfasts and rebuild a widow’s home or mentor a child who has no father.

Stop praying for blessings and help those who God has asked us to help, for they are already blessed!

And then I think God would say, “And while you are doing these things, pray! Pray hard! Pray often! And I will give you the strength and wisdom and courage to shine your light and rescue people from poverty, hopelessness and loneliness. On top of that, the world will be drawn to Me and the world will know I am a God of love and redemption.”

What happened when God told Moses to quit praying and get moving?

The sea split.

The children of Israel experienced a miracle.

I end with a few of my favorite quotes on this subject:

“Action without prayer is arrogance, prayer without action is hypocrisy.” Jose Zayas

“Witness the fact that in the Lord’s Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach.” Woodrow Wilson

“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” Soren Kierkegaard

“Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day; give him a religion, and he’ll starve to death while praying for a fish.” Author Unknown

“I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” Frederick Douglass, escaped slave

“Practical prayer is harder on the soles of your shoes than on the knees of your trousers.” Austin O’Malley

“Call on God, but row away from the rocks.” Indian Proverb

“Prayer begets faith, faith begets love, and love begets service on behalf of the poor.” Mother Teresa