Faith in Action

He may teach us his ways, and we may walk in his path. (Micah 4:2)

Mic. 4:2-5; Ps. 25:4-5 and 26:1-3; Ps. 86:11; I John 1:7

What Is God Saying?

Micah was a prophet who had little to do with the upper echelon of society. He would have been all thumbs if he had prophesied in the royal courts of the land. Still, he had his brand of courage. He spoke to the ordinary person and the many people who lived close to the land. They also had their needs and were involved in the social sins of their day. They heard his direct, clear message.

He was a contemporary of Isaiah in Jerusalem and Hosea in Israel. As he says in Micah 3:8, his credentials were valid, "Truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord and with justice and with might." But Micah keeps his brave and distasteful messages about God's judgment on sin brief. He loves to dwell on the message of hope, and that brings us to the key verse for today, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways, and we may walk in his paths."

How Does This Apply To Us?

There is a message of hope for us in these ancient words of Micah. We, too, need to be taught in the ways of God and convert knowledge into doing. Being taught in the ways of God is a good first step, which we must follow with more steps in the direction of God's will. We must see that what we learn in the quiet of prayer is converted into life. That is where prayer comes in as the true catalyst that converts faith into action, truth into substance, learning into doing, and understanding into realization.

Pray With Me

Yours to teach, Lord. Mine to follow! Let my mind be open to receive Your truth. Let my heart be open to respond to Your love. But let there be more. Give me the grace to walk in Your ways.

To know Your ways is good. To go in Your way is better. I can see the rightness of Your commandments with the mind. I can be impressed with the beauty of Your creation. Your mercies that never fail can humble me. But I cannot truly know You until I am willing to walk in Your ways. Faith is not receiving a conviction. It is acting on that conviction. Faith is not knowing alone. It is knowing and going.

Give me, Lord, a faith like Abraham's. He knew the futility of trusting in idols. You told him that you had better things for him. He needed to leave his boyhood home and go out, "not knowing whither." He needed to answer God with his feet. What he knew in his mind could not save him. Knowledge is good, but it is not good enough.

Bless my waiting heart with a new understanding of Your perfect ways. Break down all barriers that would keep the clear shining of Your truth from flooding my being. You are the Source of all wisdom. Waiting on You with humility and openness, I will be taught by Your promised and always present Holy Spirit.

Then, Lord, I will move out on what I know. I will trust you for all I do not and cannot know. Free my mind from ignorance and fear. Then lead me that I may bring Your love to others and, in Your time, bring me to Your heavenly Kingdom.

In the fullness of Chnst's unfailing love. Amen.

Moving On In The Life Of Prayer

Since, in our years, we will never take in the full spectrum of knowledge, we must move out on what we know. To know God's ways is good. To go God's way is better. That's faith in action. That's love in bloom. That's prayer at its triumphant best.