Wordless Prayer, Speechless Faith

I give you an example. Lets say it has been a few times when you made a mistake on ur work, and prayed so hard to God so that the luck would be on your side, or else you’d risk your job. Yeah, thankfully, God answered your prayer. Alleluia. Your job was safe. 

Then it happened again. Again, you grabbed your prayer book, prayed so hard. You could almost remember your sentences from the last time, asking for pity for God to save your job again. You asked for mercy from God, admitting all your faults and carelessness. You humbly knelt before God and read out your request. With all the faith there was, with His power and might, again, He answered your prayer. Alleluia. Your job was safe again. You said your thankfulness in many words. 

Then after a while, out of no where, not knowing where went wrong, again, you made another mistake! Whoa! You became numb. This time, you have less fear in your heart and you could not explain why. No more cold feet or panic attack. You just went really cool about it. Of course you occasionally have moments of regrets why it could happen again. And you found yourself kneeling at the church, with your praying hands. You were about to say some request to God, and almost the same sentences again. 

BUT… 

You did not. You paused and said “God….I don’t know what to pray for now. I’m lost for words. I keep having this problem and I feel like I’m repeating the same prayers in just a few months. God, you know my heart is in trouble, you know I need a solution, but I suddenly feel that it’s unfair that I keep asking for your help, and you always there to help; but then, How long will I keep saying the same request?” 

Suddenly you realized something. You could ask for God’s help as many times as you want, but you will keep screwing up the same old things because you just didn’t do enough effort to improve yourself, and you realize YOU are the cause of your problems. It’s because you are not GRATEFUL enuff for your job, you are always careless and ignorant, thinking that FAITH is all you need, that if anything go wrong, your FAITH alone will help you to clean the mess that you make. 

Suddenly with that, you know that God’s help comes in the form of wisdom. This time, you speak to yourself, If you just never learn from the past, that if it’s what it takes for you to learn a big lesson, if you have to lose your job this time, you know it’s what you deserve out of your ungratefulness. God will not help you keep your job if you don’t make use of all your capabilities and chances He’s been giving you. And your dream doesn’t just happen with prayers. It must come with works and efforts. Or else, it’s like trying to manipulate the word Faith for your own benefit. 

Note: If your faith doesn’t translate into good values, principles, then stop bragging about having a faith as big as a mountain. 

James begins this section by using the example of someone who says he has faith but has no works, "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). In other words, James is addressing the issue of a dead faith; that is nothing more than a verbal pronouncement. It is empty of life and action. He begins with the negative and demonstrates what an empty faith is (verses 15-17, words without actions). Then he shows that that type of faith isn't much different from the faith of demons (verse 19). Finally, he gives examples of living faith that is words followed by actions. He writes of Abraham and Rahab as examples of people who demonstrated their faith by their deeds.