Sharpening The Ax
One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." "But what you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."

I have spend many a day chopping wood in my life time. When that ax was sharp I could chop a lot of wood in a short time. But if I would let my ax get dull of course my pile of wood would become smaller using the same amount of time. I would still work just as hard, yet I would not get as much done with a dull ax or a dull chain saw.

Our Christian live is much like this. An ax is nothing more than a tool used to get a specific work accomplished. We, also are tools in the Masters hand. Sharpened for the work that God has set before us. But what makes the difference in being sharp and affective or dull and not as affective? Well as a stone or file is used to sharpen an ax, for the Christian it is prayer. Prayer is the key to making us sharp and powerful for God.

Why is prayer important? First of all the bible teaches us the importance of prayer. Jesus shows us an example of prayer in Mt 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. In this prayer we find many things to help keep us sharp and effective. The first thing we see is giving God the glory. Acknowledging his greatness. The second thing we find here is seeking his will. One thing we must have to remain sharp for the Lord is being in His will. The third thing we find is confessing that we need Him to provide. Then we come to forgiveness, without forgiveness of sin we become dull. Sin is like hitting a rock with a sharp ax: it will dull quickly. Then we find guidance in this scripture. To remain sharp for the Lord we must allow him to lead us. You see that ax can not hit the mark on a block of wood on its own. Someone must guide it. You and I must realize that we can not be affective for the work of God without His guiding hand. And prayer is the key to all these things. Prayer is the tool to keep us sharp and in condition. Prayer is mentioned 167 times in the New Testament alone. And 363 times in the Old Testament. Jesus shows us the need for this kind of prayer in Lu 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. If Jesus saw the need to spend an all night prayer with God, what does that tell us?

What we have to realize today is again the example of the story. We can apply the same amount of effort into the work of the Lord, but if we are dull we will be more likely to become tired and ineffective in the work, which can lead to setting the work aside and quitting. I fear that many have come to this place today.

Friend today if you have become tired and week working for the Lord. May suggestion would be to go back to that place of prayer and find strength from the Lord. May the Lord bless you today is our prayer.