This is profound. Are you ready? Here it is…
And people-in-process fall. They fail. They sin. They betray. This is what we as humans do in our flesh. This is why we need a Savior. This is why Christ died and why he rose. His love fully healing our broken state.
When we waste our time meditating upon the failures of others — even the actions that caused deep gashes to our souls — we live bound with the heavy chains of bitterness and unforgiveness. We nullify the work of Christ. We forfeit his promised abundance.
There is a place for communication. There is a time to confront. But when it comes to our own thought lives, we have to release others from our internal judgment or we will dwell in personal torment.
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
~Jesus
Matthew 5:44-45
Pray for those who spitefully use us? We wonder if he actually sees our tears or knows our desires. Yet he is for us, not against us. And since he said it, I’m assuming it true. And revolutionary. Dare we take him at his word and choose to intercede.
I’ve decided to believe him. By his great grace he has opened my eyes to see the thoughts that tear others down. He has challenged me to pray rather than belittle. He has empowered me to lift and bless with my thoughts, rather than sever the soul of another. And it is transforming my mind.
Pray for those who use us and persecute us that we may be daughters (and sons) of our Father.
Today’s thought-life challenge…
- Take your list and determine which of your thoughts center upon the weaknesses or sins of another.
- Write down a prayer of intercession to replace each of those thoughts.
- Then speak those prayers out loud. Pray for their weaknesses. Stand in the gap for your “enemies.” Jesus did.
Fill me, Lord…
What kinds of prayers can we pray for those who have hurt us?
What can we pray for those that still live enslaved to certain sins?
If you are just joining the series…Welcome! You can scroll down the sidebar to the right to read all the previous series posts. I look forward to hearing your insights, friend. Thanks for stopping by. ~Lara
Thank you for this reminder. Perfectionists want to be perfect now and we don’t give ourselves the grace to know we are in process. We also get angry when others are not meeting those “perfect” expectations. Thank you for the reminder to pray instead of belittle.
Ugh. I’m a recovering perfectionist. I know that battle. Keep on, sister-friend.
You are seriously getting to the nitty-gritty here, Lara. This has been the lesson God has wanted me to learn in this decade of life, and it has been hard. He has given me more opportunities to release others than I care to admit. Beautifully written, friend.
It is hard. We battle against emotion — real emotion — and it is so very difficult. So thankful he did not leave us to fight the battle alone. What grace.
Truly Awesome!
YES….
Thanks for reminding me to take my thoughts captive and focus on what His Word tells me to focus on—and stand in the gap for others who don’t “measure up”—because I don’t either!
This is really great, Lara. Amazing truths. Vital reminders that I need pretty much…daily! Thank you for your faithfulness to His word and His calling on you. Love you!