You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.     John 15:16-17 HCSB

We all have that friend or family member who only calls when they need something, right? You know the minute the phone rings that they will be asking for you to give them something or help them with some task. Perhaps you have even called on them for help only to be told that they were too busy and just couldn’t help. Or even worse, maybe they said they would help but never did. Maybe they promised to do something, but then never came through. I want us to take a good, hard look at our relationship with our Lord and Savior today.  Think about it, do you go to God in prayer asking for something, but leave Him hanging when it comes time to serve Him? Are you just too busy living your life to do things like pray, study your Bible, attend church, serve God but not too busy to ask God to supply your every need?

So, I ask you today are you praying to God, but not producing any fruit? Are you asking Him to do all the giving while you do all the taking? For many years of my life, I would send up those 911 prayers. I would pray when times got desperate, but other than that I would often forget to pray. I would go to church every now and then. I did nothing to serve Him. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even a good witness for him in the way I lived my life. I didn’t look any different from the world out there. I am sure that if I had said I was a Christian that might have shocked some people. I did what everyone else did. I forgot to pray, only read my Bible while at church and wasn’t there on a regular basis. I was producing no fruit, just praying when times got tough.

I look back on those days and am ashamed at how self-centered I was. I wanted to have a good time with my friends doing things that I am sure broke God’s heart. But I wanted God to answer my prayers and give me all that I asked for. You can’t get much more selfish than that. I can recall asking my mom to pray for me when I wanted something or wanted help with some situation because I noticed how God seemed to answer her prayers. I used to always tell her she was a good prayer. But in actuality, she was a good servant. My mom served the Lord until Alzheimer’s stopped her from doing so. Her smile and sweet spirit still minister to those of us who care for her.  People are often shocked by it, but I explain that she always was that way because of her relationship with the Lord. So, she still witnesses today. She has been a good and faithful servant. Matthew 25:21 says, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’  My mom’s service has brought her joy. She has entered into the joy of her Master. Even Alzheimer’s has not been able to take her joy away.

I have come to realize that God answered my mom’s prayers because my mom served Him faithfully. She understood to pray for His will. She had God-given wisdom and discernment. But most importantly, she was a good and faithful servant. My mom was a bank executive, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and took care of her parents in their final years. But even with all these tasks on her, she still had time to attend church every time the doors were open. She had time to be in the church choir, to teach Sunday School, to be the church clerk and serve at any other task that was needed. She also witnessed to others every chance she got.

If you are praying and asking God to do things for you, don’t forget that we need to reciprocate by loving Him with all our heart. We need to serve Him and we need to go out and make disciples of others.

If you are praying, but not producing, you may want to rethink that.

Have a great day!