Prayer is a force to be reckoned with. If you don’t believe that to be true I challenge you to give it a shot. See how Jesus responds to you.
I’ve recently been presented with some interesting situations in life.
I don’t intend to bore you with the details, but the gist of these particular struggles I’ve found myself in have dealt with the idea that I don’t matter, I’m not a ‘good Christian’ and that the things I do to serve God aren’t good enough.
These aforementioned situations have brought me to my knees, where I call out for the mighty hand of God to give me peace as I walk through them.
Struggles in life aren’t uncommon. You’ve experienced your fair share of them, for sure. I just want to reiterate one thing: Prayer is a force to be reckoned with. It is.
How do we obey God’s command in Matthew 5:44 where He says to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” – even those who bring us to our knees in desolation?
I believe that to achieve this standard that God has placed before us we must do two things:
- Pray for humility for ourselves
- Pray for grace for others
Praying for humility for ourselves ensures that’s when we encounter the source of our distress we do not allow our pride to divert us from fulfilling God’s greater and perfect example of forgiveness.
Praying grace for others is nothing more than you giving God the permission to take hold of your heart and soften it so that you may truly empathize with others and delight in obeying Jesus’s command to love our enemies.
These two factors are huge when it comes to loving others – even when those others are people who have scarred our hearts.
Grace and mercy always come out on top in the end. Maturity is a large part of that.
As God weaves these two characteristics into the inner being of my lifestyle, I begin to gain more and more insight into the character of Jesus Chrsit. I understand just how boundless His grace and mercy for us is. It’s just one reason why I take pleasure in surrendering everything to the One who paid it all.
I hope and pray that you, if you haven’t already, begin to ask God for a heart of humility and grace for others. That kind of heart reflects Jesus and bears the most precious fruit.
Do you find your identity in what others say about you or do you find your identity in what your Creator says about you?
Very insightful. Words everyone needs to hear.
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