Pray and Do Something

In Mark 2 we have the enigmatic story of four friends breaking up the roof of a home where Jesus is teaching in order to lower their paralyzed companion down before Jesus for healing. Jesus says, because He can and because He knows what he’s doing and what will happen, “Your sins are forgiven.” We could get into the weeds here, as they say. Jesus taught elsewhere that, in contrast to the Pharisees, infirmity was not (necessarily) a result of sin “either of this man or his parents.” (John 9) But this man, like all of us, needed forgiveness, and perhaps he lived under the fear that his paralysis was due to a sin in his life (and perhaps it was, somehow; we can’t know).

The Pharisees take the bait, and accuse Him of taking God’s place in forgiving sins. Jesus answered, “What is easier, to say sins are forgiven” (of which there is no outward proof, but the priests in the temple did it all the time) or “you are healed and get up and walk? So to prove to you I have the authority to do both and more…” and he healed paralyzed man.

I contemplated this morning this story in relation to prayer: What is easier, to say “I’ll pray for you?” or to actually pray, with or without that promise, or to be used by God to meet the need being prayed about when one can? “Please pray I’ll get a ride to my chemo treatments.” “Yes, I’ll pray about that.” Which is easier, to say “I’ll pray about that ride” or “I’ll get myself in the car and take you, at least every other week, and help you find someone else when I can’t?” 

It’s not that prayer is easy. Serious prayer is work and sacrifice. But “I’ll pray for you,” is the easiest thing in the world to say. Back it up.