Thursday 8/1/2013 6:01 AM
I did not listen to music this morning during my run. Normally I do but this morning I decided to
spend some time praying. I prayed for
the Verkaiks in Minnesota as they prepare for Ryan’s bone marrow transplant and
for others that came to mind. Praying
for those in severe need, like the Verkaiks, comes easily and naturally. The need is glaringly evident and my heart
goes out to them as I pray. Praying for
those whose life seems to be moving along fairly well is somewhat more
difficult and I find that I often pray for God to “bless” those people. I have a vague sense of what I mean by bless
but it lacks specificity and direction.
I fail to pray for those people I either dislike or who have hurt
me. I guess it is a passive aggressive
way of hoping that God will give them what I consider to be their just
desserts.
This morning I am convicted by the words of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer in his book Life Together. He writes, “A Christian fellowship lives and
exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it
collapses. I can no longer condemn or
hate a brother for whom I prayer, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange
and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a
brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner. This is a happy discovery for the Christian
who begins to pray for others. There is
no dislike, no personal tension, no estrangement that cannot be overcome by
intercession as far as our side of it is concerned.” I need to spend more time praying for people
that I find troublesome. God needs to
change my heart and my attitude toward them.
Maybe my prayer can be the avenue he uses to accomplish that.
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