Pray to God but play your part!

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick. Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.” But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.” “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said. Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.

Food for thought!

This is a very special miracle. So special that it is the only miracle of Jesus which is related in all four gospels. It is special also in that it shows the TWO ingredients of every miracle. There’s God, and there’s man; there’s praying to God, and there’s playing our part. The two ALWAYS go together.

When the disciples were asked to give the people something to eat, they insisted that “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said. Notice that they are saying, "All WE have". They can only think of themselves; not of God. This is how many of us deal with difficulties; we think of everything and everybody except God. We look at problems through our eyes and our efforts and our wages, etc., just like the disciples did: "All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish." With such false start we cannot end with correct solutions; we are like the disciples: “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.” This is the human solution!

After listening to their human solution, Jesus taught them and us a lifetime lesson. For a miracle to happen, two things must concurrently occur: praying to God, and playing our part. Prayer alone is not enough; playing our part is not enough. We must pray to God, yes, but also, we must play our part. This is what Jesus did: Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven (he prayed to God), and blessed them. Why didn't Jesus just go on and produce bread from thin air to feed the crowd? Because God needs our “five loaves and two fish.”

In other words, God requires us to play our part in order to resolve our problems. That's why Jesus demanded that the disciples themselves "Bring them here". He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. All this means that prayer and good wishes are not always enough. No wonder wish-you-well cards have become so popular. Like the disciples we wish people well but have no intention of taking positive action to help the situation.

Sometimes when we pray, God’s answer to us is, “But you can do that yourselves; There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper." So, whenever we have those humanly speaking impossible situations, whenever we seek a miracle from God, we must do two things: pray to God, and play our part. As you play your part pray, and as you pray, play your part. If you pray for a job, go around and look for one. If you pray for healing, go to the hospital and seek treatment.