Nike.

(Disclaimer: I fail way more than I succeed. I wish my ears were more sensitive to hear more and my heart had more courage in it to obey.)

Nike, "Just do it". Today I had the opportunity to visit with a sweet lady who may be nearing the end of her battle with cancer. As always, there is a chance she can overcome, but there is also the chance that she will not. This lady is a Christian and her love for the Lord is very evident. Even in this uncertain time, her faith remains steady.

As Sarah and I were about to leave, I really felt like I was supposed to pray for her. I didn't know what I was supposed to pray and didn't have my prayer rehearsed in my head. As I started praying, I literally did not know what I was going to say. I simply asked God to lead me as I led the prayer.

Strangely enough, my prayer wasn't about healing, but rather it was about peace. It was a prayer of comfort and peace. It was a prayer to settle her mind and help her realize that Christ said that He would never leave us or forsake us and that He was with us always. It was a prayer to remind her that God is our comfort in time of need.

This post isn't about the prayer, but rather it is about the decision to do it. Perhaps we should do like Nike says (and the Bible) and "Just do it". I could have left her house without praying, but I didn't. I took the time that I know she would have taken for me had our situations been reversed. To live a life devoted to Christ means that we are to be doers of the Word and not just hearers. What would the world be like if we all obeyed God? Perhaps if we put our love of Christ into action, people would see that God really does love them after all. Who knows what the impact will be of our simple act of of obedience, or disobedience.

God, help us to be doers of the word and not just hearers.

James 1:22-25

22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Additional reading: Matthew 16:24-28