“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” (Jas 2:14). Real believing prayer and practical expressions of faith are inextricably linked in the mind of God.
I love the story of the prayer meeting that was held by a local church for a farm family who had fallen on hard times. The meeting was interrupted by some insistent knocking at the door. When the door was opened, there stood the son of another farmer in the fellowship. “Pa couldn’t make it tonight,” said the young man, “but I brought his prayers over in the wagon.” His prayers? In the wagon? The crowd tumbled out the door and then saw the “prayers” that had been delivered: potatoes, flour, beef, oatmeal, turnips, apples, some of the wife’s preserves, and clothing as well. It was reported that the prayer meeting adjourned at that point, with the others hurrying home to see what answers to prayer they might have to add to the practical farmer’s load.