I made a deal with God: "Tell me what You want me to do, give me the grace to do it, and I will do it." I have stuck with that attitude through the years.

The Lord told me He loved me. He has never asked me to do anything that He has not provided the grace for. There have been difficult times; but everyone who has ever lived on the earth has had a difficult time or two.

But my conscience is clear. Each one of us can only do so much. Isn't that so? If we do what God wants us to do, we have peace with God. If we do less than this we will have our talent removed from us and be thrown into the outer darkness. If we attempt to do more than this we are guilty of presumption. The third temptation of Christ, that of being invited to leap off the roof of the Temple, is the test of presumption.

But taking the attitude of just doing what God directs us to do, means we believe God knows what He is doing and is in control of the world.

God is not looking for people to "do great things for God." This attitude toward God is nothing more than human ignorance and presumption. God asks only that we be obedient to Him.

The eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews, the "faith chapter," is a record of obedient people, not spiritually ambitious people who were trying to "push the envelope" to get God to save more people.

Indeed there are times when the Spirit of God burdens us to pray or to do something extraordinary. But this is a different matter from attempting to challenge God to act.

The Bible tells us to desire fervently the gifts of the Spirit. The Bible tells us to persevere in prayer. And I know from experience that we receive what we pray for.

One time the Lord said to me: "You keep on praying and I will keep on answering."

I am not advocating a passive attitude toward the Lord. He said we have not because we ask not.

It is one thing to pray fervently; but another matter to "put feet on our prayers." A prayer with feet is like an eagle with boots on. Prayers and eagles have wings. They do not plod along on the ground, they fly.

The very expression "put feet on your prayers" reveals the attitude of attempting to help God out.

"God helps those who help themselves." "Pray like everything depends on God and then act like everything depends on you." Both of these expressions reveal the current unscriptural attitude.

The Lord told us to "blow the trumpet" when we go to war, and He would remember us. This means to keep praying so God is aware of what we are doing and so we will look to God for our help.

Christ advised us to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth laborers. We don't always do this. We believe the Lord meant we should go; but this is not what He said. He told us to pray, not to go. He told us He would make us fishers of men, not to just go out and fish however and wherever we desired.

To be continued.