Which is more effective: Prayer or Action?

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Choices are “Prayer” or “Action” and the choice you choose won’t be made public.

And please don’t say “Both” .

 

[danserr]

Choices are “Prayer” or “Action” and the choice you choose won’t be made public.

And please don’t say “Both” .

Both, sorry.

So, phrased, you seem to be really asking “is prayer to the exclusion of action more effective than action to the exclusion of prayer.”

The answer, of course, is that a prayer that doesn’t express itself in one taking what action one can does not seem like a very sincere prayer (‘Dear God, please end world hunger,’ where the person praying does nothing to help), and that action is always more effective when guided by prayer. For this reason the English evangelicals who prayed to end the slave trade, also effectively worked to end it. It is why dreary moralists like Marcus Aurelius, could never make a serious moral revolution, but early Christians, who abolished the practice of infanticide did.

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Both, sorry.

Oh, never mind, haha . I knew it would be hard to resist

 

[slywakka250]

Isn’t prayer itself an “action”??

I think a better question is , “how effective is prayer?”

 

[Rascalking]

Isn’t prayer itself an “action”??

That’s the first thing I thought as well. Isn’t “praying” a verb? An action in itself?

 

[Nelka]

Divine Mercy to St. Faustina.

My daughter, I want to instruct you on how you are to rescue souls through sacrifice and prayer. You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone.

Prayer and suffering then.

 

[Bearontherun]

Prayer.

Through prayer we hope to hear God’s voice and see His will for us. Maybe we are not on the “right track” to begin with so action alone could take us farther from where we should be.

 

[Dorothy]

Prayer is very important, as any action that we do in order to be effective in grace, needs the foundation of prayer.

It does feel good to be active. But our actions need to be for the glory of God, and not to be so we are noticed and thought well of. Sometimes I am not fully aware of my own motives, and prayer is always needed so that my actions can be meritorious and build up the Body of Christ.

 

[Julia_Mae]

More effective at what? To effect the Will of God, nothing is as effective as prayer. It is through prayer that we convert matter into the spiritual goods God uses to bring His Mercy to us.

Doesn’t hurt to be kind to one another and write a check to Mercy Corp and drop a few cans at a food drive, either.

 

[the_phoenix]

Yes.

 

[tonyrey]

Combined prayer and action is generally the most effective approach but in some situations - such as on our deathbed - only prayer can be effective.

As John Milton wrote, “He also serves who only stands and waits…” ( and prays!)

 

[grasscutter]

Prayer because then we aren’t tackling the problem alone.

 

[tonyrey]

Oh, never mind, haha . I knew it would be hard to resist

Your question implies that one must be more effective - which is true because it seems highly unlikely that the sum total of our prayers and actions are equally effective…

 

[empther]

Action is more effective when the cause isn’t hopeless.
Joan of Arc put out superhuman effort with superhuman results.

She didn’t pray for the mission. It was given to her. She said she would have preferred to stay home with her mother.

 

[jmcrae]

My experience is that prayer first, and then considered action, is the key to success in any endeavor.

If you want to succeed, pray first, then wait for direction, and then when you receive direction, take the action that has been directed. You will then succeed.

But if you act first, you will fail first. Then, having failed, you will pray, and your next attempt, if you heed the direction given in response to your prayer, will succeed.

 

[Flyingg]

Try this to find out: When you have exams, you are between two options:

1- Study to pass your exams.
2- Pray to pass your exams.

Guess which one truly does work? Yes, the one on your mind Studying! For an unbeliever can pass his exams without praying but a believer can’t pass his exams by praying alone. 2 hands working are better than millions of praying hands.

 

[Dorothy]

It’s common sense that one needs to study in order to pass their exams.

Praying helps them to have calm and clarity while taking the exam.

 

[jmcrae]

It’s common sense that one needs to study in order to pass their exams.

Praying helps them to have calm and clarity while taking the exam.

And praying helps you to know what you should study, since no one has unlimited time to memorize everything they heard over the past four months.

 

[Julia_Mae]

It’s common sense that one needs to study in order to pass their exams.

Praying helps them to have calm and clarity while taking the exam.

Well, this is the issue of the OP setting a question which is incomplete. Effective at what?

Someone who becomes a doctor can study all he wants, pass perfectly all exams and have as complete knowledge as anyone of medical matters and there will still be situations where all the doing on earth with be ineffective in restoring someone to health.

One prayer can.

 

[je333]

Try this to find out: When you have exams, you are between two options:

1- Study to pass your exams.
2- Pray to pass your exams.

Guess which one truly does work? Yes, the one on your mind Studying! For an unbeliever can pass his exams without praying but a believer can’t pass his exams by praying alone. 2 hands working are better than millions of praying hands.

Millions of pryaying hands are the ones who dictate the action or make it possible for action. So someone must have been praying for an unbeliever to study to pass the exams.