When it's time to quit praying

I believe that sometimes when we pray, God is trying to tell us, "Quit praying and go do what I have already told you to do."

We pray for justice, but often turn our face away from the evil we know is there.

We pray for salvation for the world, but often don't go across the street to share the love of Christ with neighbors.

We pray for supply for missionaries, but maybe don't want to sacrifice to support them.

We pray for the poor, the orphan, the hungry, but may not want to put our money where our mouth is.

Peter Marshall, (not the actor, but a well respected Scots-American preacher, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC and twice appointed as Chaplain of the United States Senate.) spoke often concerning this. I appreciate his words, quoted below.

"I wonder what would happen if we all agreed to read one of the Gospels, until we came to a place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it...began reading again?...
There are aspects of the Gospel that are puzzling and difficult to understand. But our problems are not centered around the things we don't understand, but rather in the things we do understand, the things we could not possibly misunderstand.
This, after all, is but an illustration of the fact that our problem is not so much that we don't know what we should do.
We know perfectly well...but we don't want to do it."

Bible study that doesn't lead to action is mere academic exercise, not hearing God.
Prayer that doesn't lead to action isn't true prayer; it's self-talk. When we truly open our hearts and minds to speak to God, He will speak to us. He will encourage, comfort, command, provoke, excite us to action.

Mark Batterson puts this so well in Draw the Circle, The 40 Day Prayer Challenge.
"When everything is said and done, God won't say, "Well said, good and faithful servant." He won't say, "Well thought," "well planned," or even "well prayed." There is only one commendation He will give: "Well done, good and faithful servant."