“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20)
I recently heard Dr. Tom Williams preach a message on “Prayer And Faith” and he gave this personal illustration of a time when he put it into practice.
He had to fly out of town for a meeting he was supposed to be preaching in and a friend of his offered to drive him to the airport. While on the way to the airport, Dr. Williams had taken his suit coat off and laid it in the back seat of the car while they were riding.
After they arrived, he got out and got his suitcase and headed into the airport to catch his flight. It wasn’t until he was already inside, that he realized he had left his suit coat in the backseat of the car. His friend had already left the busy airport so there was no way to go back and get his coat. So, he did the only thing he could do…pray.
He prayed, “Father, you know I need my coat for the service but I left it in the back seat of my friend’s car and he will never see it back there. Would you tell him my coat is back there and to bring it back to the airport? Tell him I will be waiting at the curb for him.”
He went back outside by faith and waited by the curb. In just a few minutes, here comes his friend driving back up to the curb. He said, “The Lord told me you left your coat in my car and that you would be waiting for me at the curb!”
Have you ever gone to the curb with Jesus? James said that “faith without works is dead.” Effective prayer is more than just words, it requires faith, too!