the most effective thing...

What is the most effective thing we can do in the world? I think Im starting to understand what it is. Let me tell you a story:

One day I was driving home from school and going to stop at Walmart to buy some food to take home and eat. As I was driving, on the corner of the street I saw a man standing on the side of the road with a sign that said: Single dad, two kids. So I stopped and asked him if I could get him food. I went to walmart and bought as much as I could to help this man and his family through Thanksgiving. Some people might say I am naive, that I am unwise, that that man only wants money, but my heart breaks for the homeless and the poor and I felt the Lord calling me to help him out in any way I could (who knew that that man would eventually be the one to help me). I got the food I bought and brought it to him. Before I could say anything, the first thing he said was: "Ma'am, do you know Jesus?" My heart filled with joy and I said yes sir, I do. And the next thing he said was: "I truly appreciate this, but what I really need are your prayers." I was in in awe. This man truly trusted Jesus. He trusted that the Lord would provide for his family and that by asking God for help, God would be there. We talked a little longer, and my heart continued to grow for him, but when I walked away I could not stop thinking about his first two sentences.

I thought about my heart. When I saw this man on the side of the road, I didn't even think to pray for him. When I got the milk and the bread and the fruit...I didn't even think to pray for him. How could I think that small measly me could fix all of his problems by getting a load of food for him and his family. I can't. But God can. God can provide food, God can provide Ken a job, God can provide for his 6 yr old daughter Kayla and 4 yr old son Ben. Why didn't I turn to the Lord?

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Prayer is EFFECTIVE. Period. It is effective. It works. It moves. It is the most effective thing we can do. Rely on, trust in, depend on, and ask a HUGE God who can do anything and who has created all of who we are and who we will be. Prayer is POWERFUL. Period. It is powerful. It is mighty. It is strong. It is bigger than us. So what is the most effective and powerful thing we can do for our friends, family, the needy, the broken, the hungry? PRAY. I'm not saying that I am never going to give food to the needy again, but I will lift them in prayer as I do whatever I can to help them. I think prayer will lead us to action. Because we can do way more with the help of God than we ever could on our own.