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Today's Scripture: "It is an honor for a man to cease from strife and keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel." (Proverbs 20:3, AMP). Today's Word: Did you know that when you allow someone else’s words or actions to upset you, you’re allowing them to control you? When you say, “You make me so mad,” you’re really just admitting that their actions have power over you. As long as that person knows they can push your buttons, as long as you keep responding the same way, you are giving them exactly what they want. Sure, people have a right to say and do things that are upsetting, but we also have a right to not get offended. We have a right to overlook their actions. In fact, the Bible says that it’s an honor for a man to keep “aloof” from strife. In other words, we have to remove ourselves, either physically or emotionally, from strife and offense. It’s not easy, but we can choose to let it roll off of us like water off a duck’s back! Remember, you don’t need everyone to agree with you all the time. You don’t have to have the approval of others in order to be approved by God. Your job is to be the person God made you to be. Overlook offenses and let go of strife so you can live in peace and victory all the days of your life! Prayer for Today: Father, thank You for loving, accepting and approving me just as I am. I know You are doing a work in my life, and I ask for the strength and confidence to overlook offense so that I can honor You in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen. |
Positive Prayer Makes Strong Relationships By Rick Warren — May 28, 2014
I want you to think of somebody who irritates you — maybe somebody you’ve got a strained relationship with or who just rubs you the wrong way. I have two questions for you: One, do you pray for that person? Or do you just complain and grumble and nag and nitpick? If you prayed more, you’d have a lot less to grumble, complain, nag, and nitpick about. It’s your decision.
Does nagging work? No. Does prayer work? Yes. So why do you do more of the thing that doesn’t work than does?
Paul says in Philippians 1:4, “Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy” (NLT).
Paul didn’t just pray for people in his life; he prayed with joy!
There are things in other people’s lives that you’d like to change. You don’t want to change yourself; you want them to change. We always want to change other people. But you can’t!
You can, however, pray, and let God do his work in other people.
Positive praying is more effective than positive thinking. All the positive thinking in the world isn’t going to change your husband or your wife or your child or your friend or your situation. Positive thinking can change you, but it won’t change somebody else. But positive prayer can make a difference in someone else.
Do you want to know the quickest way to change a bad relationship to a good one? Start praying for the other person! It will change you, and it can change the other person.
Paul even told us how to pray for others: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11 NIV).
From these verses, we can learn to pray for the people in our lives in four ways:
Pray that they will grow in love: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”
Pray that they will make wise choices: “... so that you may be able to discern what is best ...”
Pray that they will live with integrity: “... and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ ...”
Pray that they will become like Jesus: “... filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.”
Pray these for yourself and anyone else in your life, and watch how God turns around the relationship you thought had no hope or that needed to be revived.
Talk It Over
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11 NIV)
Does nagging work? No. Does prayer work? Yes. So why do you do more of the thing that doesn’t work than does?
Paul says in Philippians 1:4, “Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy” (NLT).
Paul didn’t just pray for people in his life; he prayed with joy!
There are things in other people’s lives that you’d like to change. You don’t want to change yourself; you want them to change. We always want to change other people. But you can’t!
You can, however, pray, and let God do his work in other people.
Positive praying is more effective than positive thinking. All the positive thinking in the world isn’t going to change your husband or your wife or your child or your friend or your situation. Positive thinking can change you, but it won’t change somebody else. But positive prayer can make a difference in someone else.
Do you want to know the quickest way to change a bad relationship to a good one? Start praying for the other person! It will change you, and it can change the other person.
Paul even told us how to pray for others: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11 NIV).
From these verses, we can learn to pray for the people in our lives in four ways:
Pray that they will grow in love: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”
Pray that they will make wise choices: “... so that you may be able to discern what is best ...”
Pray that they will live with integrity: “... and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ ...”
Pray that they will become like Jesus: “... filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.”
Pray these for yourself and anyone else in your life, and watch how God turns around the relationship you thought had no hope or that needed to be revived.
Talk It Over
- Who are the people in your life with whom you have a strained relationship and for whom you need to pray these four things?
- How does positive prayer change you and not just the person for whom you are praying?
- What is the “fruit of righteousness” that comes through Jesus Christ (see Galatians 5:22-23)?
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