Pray and Work
A little girl was very concerned because her brother would persist in making and setting traps to catch birds. She tried very hard to persuade her brother not to do this, and explained to him how cruel and unkind it was to trap the beautiful birds. She did more; every night she added this petition to her prayer: "Please God, will you stop Johnnie setting traps for the birds." The cruel tactics of brother, however, still continued. One evening her nurse was very surprised to hear the little girl add another phrase to her prayer, and her petition ran as follows: "Please God, will you stop Johnnie setting traps for the birds. I know you will now." "Why are you so sure about this?" asked her nurse, and very quickly came the girl's reply: "Because I have broken and thrown away all his traps."
We are always to pray. Jesus tells us to do so; but He expects us to "do" as well. God will help us if we ask Him, but we must "try His works to do," as the hymn-writer puts it. The Bible tells us to "Strive to enter in at the straight gate," and "strive" sounds like trying very hard, does it not? The Good Shepherd is always ready to lead us, but we must do the "following."
The Devil sets all kinds of traps to try and catch us. Here are a few: Pride, evil thoughts, envy, selfishness, untruthfulness, disobedience. We must ask God for help, strength, and wisdom to keep out of the traps, and then in His strength do our best to smash them.
