Are You Doing What It Says?
Your Nightly Prayer for Apr. 23, 2025
By Lynette Kittle
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” - James 1:22
SOMETHING TO PONDER
The popular saying, “Actions speak louder than words,” is correct because it’s a lot easier to say a bunch of words than to do what we say. No matter how many words we speak, if we don’t put them into action, we’re probably not really committed to them or what they are saying. Likewise, sometimes what we say and what we do don’t seem to line up. Often parents will tell children, “Do as I say, not as I do,” because of discrepancies between what they say and what they are actually doing.
Just like children see the difference, it’s no wonder that non-believers sometimes have issues with believers, seeing how their words and actions don’t match up. No wonder some are discouraged from believing, too. Because the world is watching us, whether we realize it or not, it’s vital as Christians to be doers of what we say we believe. As 1 John 3:18 encourages, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” As well, it’s confusing and off-putting to those around us to say we believe what the Bible teaches yet not practice its principles or daily live it out. Like James 2:14 asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”
Although our actions don’t save us, they do reveal and communicate in powerful ways what we truly believe in our hearts. As James 2:17 explains, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Dear Father, Open my eyes to hear what You’re saying and my eyes to see what You’re calling me to do. Cause me to examine my words, discovering where I’m falling short in following through and doing what it says. Help me to study and know Your word so well, that in every situation, I choose to follow and do. Strengthen me to walk daily in Your ways and do Your will. Remove all fear and obstacles that may be holding me back and keeping me from living out my faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Take time to read God’s words to refresh your heart and mind to what He teaches in His word. Consider if you are living it out in your life.
2. Are your words and actions lining up with one another? Are you practicing what you’re preaching to others? If not, take stock of the things you’re saying and make a list of how you can actually put them into practice and live them out in your daily life.
3. Are there reasons holding you back from living out your faith? Or, why what you say isn’t matching up with what you’re doing, like fear of what others will think of you? Are you facing disapproving friends or family objections? If so, ask God to show you how to overcome these situations and do what He is leading you to do in your life.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Benjamin Davies
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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