It is an outrage to ask God to do a thing while we sit indolent. The prayer to be acceptable, must come not only from the heart, but from the hands. Luther came to Melancthon’s bedside and prayed for his recovery, and insisted, at the same time, that he should take some warm soup, the soup being just as important as the prayer.
If a man has “evening prayers” asking for health, and then sits down to a full supper of indigestibles at eleven o’clock at night, his prayer is a mockery. A man has no right to pray for the safety of his family when he knows there is no cover on the cistern.—TALMAGE.