A 365 Days Challenge Day #14
Praying for Persecutors
The first mention of prayer in the New Testament is an injunction to pray for those who persecute you. Praying for those who have hurt you takes your relationship with God to an entirely different level. It affords you an opportunity to look honestly at the hurt and anger you feel, and to be realistic with God about the offenses that were committed against you. God never expected you to pretend that something bad didn’t happen.
Praying for those who persecute you also allows you to examine the reasons that you might hesitate to hand that hurt and anger over to God. This is a place of honesty and truth. As you are honest with God, He can help you comprehend the freeing truth about your situation. Free from bitterness, you begin to see your persecutor through God’s eyes. You can pray that he or she will come to that same place of freedom that you have found, so that everything that was wrong can finally be set right.
Lord God, when I think about those who have hurt me, I…
This came to me on a day I needed it the most. I was feeling so bitter, upset and hurt. I’m not the type of person to get attached, but I have a lot of feelings and when I get hurt, I hold on to it like it’s my best friend. That feeling that never wants to let go of me. It’s horrible. I hate it. Instead of me handling it over to God and letting it go. I hold on. By doing what this lesson teaches me to do, I can start to comprehend the true freeing of the truth. If I get realistic with the truth, praying for those that has hurt me, it will take my relationship with God to an entirely different level. A superior level where I’ve never been before.
A 365 Days Challenge Day #15
Making a Difference
Your prayers for cities and nations are never wasted. You never know whose life you will change forever through prayer. The first example of intercession in the Bible is Abraham negotiating with God on behalf of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. “If you find ten righteous people in Sodom,” Abraham asks, ” will you save the city from destruction?” What was Abraham thinking? Rather than focus on everything that was wrong, he looked for that sliver of hope, that opportunity for God to intervene.
In the same way, as you look around you, find opportunities for God to show up. Pray for His intervention in schools, governments, media, entertainment, families, churches, and businesses. The chaos in our world has a solution: the God who listens to and answers our prayers. The change that’s needed might come through your prayers. You may never run for president or own a business or make a movie, but your influence can be felt everywhere if you are willing to intercede.
God, when I hear bad news, my first response is to…
To be honest, I no longer watch the news. I don’t watch television. It’s not a part of my life anymore. Although I read about it on the media. It still doesn’t make me want to watch it. I still pray for our Nation, Schools, President, Hospitals, prisons, and families around the world. I have rested all the caused and chaos of this world in God’s hands.
“”” Sorry about the double post but I’m behind. I wasn’t feeling too good and didn’t have time to post “””
Thinking Out Cloud 