E. M. Bounds -- Our Religion Breaks Down ...

E. M. Bounds -- Our religion breaks down oftenest and most sadly in our conduct. Beautiful theories are marred by ugly lives. The most difficult as well as the most impressive point in piety is to live it. Our praying suffers as much as our religion from bad living. Preachers were charged in primitive times to preach by their lives or not preach at all. So Christians everywhere ought to pray by their lives or not pray at all. . . Praying which does not result in pure conduct is a delusion. We have missed the whole office and virtue of praying if it does not rectify conduct. It is in the very nature of things that we must quit praying or quit bad conduct. . . A life growing in it’s purity and devotion will be a more prayerful life.