Best Intentions

       Often I have the best intentions, I really mean it when I say it, but then I get up caught up in other tasks, and forget. This is something that people have gotten on me about before, and I'm sure I will continue to hear about for the rest of my life, because simply I am human, I forget things, I make mistakes, and I get busy with life. But just because I'm human and I know we are all guilty of this sometimes doesn't mean I shouldn't try to do better. Most especially in the case of prayer, I don't think praying should ever be one of those things that fall into that list of things I say I will do, that I intend to do but don't follow through with. Knowing what an impact prayer has made in my life, I realize now how important it is to pray for someone when they ask for it, or when you say you will because that could be exactly why God had them cross your path that day.
       When I wasn't as serious about my relationship with God I used to say 'I'll pray for you' all the time without ever really following through. Most of the time it was because of the reasons that I mentioned above, I got caught up in other things and forgot. At that time it never bothered me that this happened, I'd just shrug my shoulders and go oh well, next time I'll try harder to remember to pray. I excused the behavior in myself because my intentions were good, but I never really did try harder. I never did anything to stop it from happening again.
       Then sometime after I started to invest in my relationship with God again, this behavior started to weigh heavily on my heart. How could I possibly be pleasing God if I made promises I didn't keep? Even if I wasn't intentionally lying, wasn't I still technically lying because I didn't do it? These thoughts rolled around for awhile and I had some conversations with others on here about it that farther convicted my heart, and then finally my grandmother said something to me that really made it clear. To be honest, she and I weren't even talking about this, but during our conversation she said to me, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." That did it, I knew then I was so very, very wrong to shrug my shoulders and go oh well maybe next time when I didn't keep my word. I knew then that I needed to follow through and do better, just as we are instructed in James 4:17 ' 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.'
        I started to change my behavior after that, I don't wait to pray anymore, I do it immediately no matter where I am so I know I won't forget and I have seen amazing things because of this and had people say how much it helped. This has been a huge blessing and encouragement in continuing the practice of praying right away. But this has been a problem in my life in other ways too, there are other times that I have good intentions but didn't follow through as I should, recently this was brought to my attention by someone else, and again today. As I wrote and thought again about my grandma's words and the words of James that I shared, I was convicted to do better, to not just have good intentions but to follow through with them.
       The Bible tells us that as believers we will be known as Yeshua's by the love we show others (John 13:34-35) but if we never express our love in action how can our actions glorify our King? What kind of faith do we display with only good intentions and no works, because isn't our faith supposed to lead to good works? Today I see this more clearly than before and am determined to do better./ I may have the best of intentions in my heart, but if my actions don't match I am truly failing myself and more importantly God. God bless you all.

Proverbs 3:28   
Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

Titus 1:16   
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves

James 2:14-17   
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.