Pray for Them
Prayer 365 // 5 Keys to Forgiveness (Day 5)
More from this week:
Today's Scripture:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” - Matthew 5:43-48 NIV
Today's Devotional:
Our theme for this week of devotion and prayer has been the "5 Keys to Forgiveness." And it has been powerful! This is a continuation from Sunday's message titled "The Rhythm of Forgiveness." And with these keys, we are opening the door of our hearts to God as we forgive to be forgiven.
These are the 5 Keys to Forgiveness:
The first four we covered each day this week so be sure to go to podcast show page or download the Thryve Church App and tap Podcasts at the top to find all of the episodes of Prayer 365. Either way, make sure you check out each episode and review the written notes for the devotionals. I believe this weeks theme has the power to change your life! Now let’s move forward into today’s devotion.
In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus says these words: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Jesus: the author and finisher of our faith says when it comes to our enemies to love them and God those who hurt us, pray for them. PRAY FOR THEM. P-R-A-Y, pray for them. As you can see, I’m making it a point to be very clear in what I’m saying. I’m doing this because somewhere between the moment these words were captured by our eyes, heard through our ears and translated through our minds to moment of their realization in our lives, it seems that something has gotten crossed. We say out of our mouths, "Pray for them” (P-R-A-Y) but the actions of our hearts say “Prey on them!” (P-R-E-Y). Jesus tells us to pray for them, but our lives demonstrate “Prey on them.” These two words sound just a like, but have completely different meanings. But I believe they describe how far away we’ve drifted from what God requires of us.
Just earlier this year, I was seeking God for a breakthrough. I felt drained, apathetic, and narcissistic. I knew that there was a problem, it was clear to me that my feelings and actions did not align with God’s will for my life. I felt like I was artificially manufacturing the fruit of the Spirit instead of growing them by the Spirit, pouring from a place of emptiness. I was living with a spiritual deficit. After much prayer and seeking the face of God for a true change in my life, He showed me the source of my problem. It was an unforgiving heart towards those who had hurt me deeply in years past.
This was made aware to me after I watched a testimony of someone who had gone through something similar. His name is Kevin Levar, the singer/songwriter who wrote the song titled "A Heart that Forgives.” In his testimony, He described how God told him that He had a Joseph size blessing for him but he didn’t possess a Joseph size heart. Would you be willing to give them Goshen if I asked you to? Let me briefly explain the history of Joseph’s life:
Joseph was sold into slavery by His brothers, thrown into prison because of a lie told by his master’s wife, however, God turned things around in his favor, transitioning Joseph from the prison to the palace where he was made governor over the land of Egypt. As governor, he encountered the same brothers that sold him into slavery but they didn’t recognize him. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers in Genesis 45, they were overtaken with fear. Yet he told them, “do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” There’s so much to talk about but I want you to see what happens in verses 9 and 10: “Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen…”
Now let me remind you of the where we were in the testimony: Kevin expressed being told by God, "I have a Joseph sized blessing for you, but you don’t yet possess a Joseph sized heart.” This then led to the question, “Would you be willing to give them Goshen if I asked you to?” You see, Goshen was the best land of all of Egypt. Essentially this means, are you willing to give them my best? As believers it is our responsibility to be a walking demonstration of God’s best and this is manifested greatest through our love.
As I began to reflect on my response to the trauma I experienced through betrayal, rejection and abandonment I realized that my greatest desire was a sense of remorse from those who had hurt me. An apology wasn’t enough, I wanted them to feel the weight of their actions and the impact they left on my heart. So when it came to the question of giving them God’s best, it was clear that I had not desired this. In that moment it became clear that I could not remember the last time I had prayed for them. I may have said some generic things, but the prayer in my heart was for their remorse. Instead of praying for them, I was preying on them. Without realizing it, I wanted the worst for them. You see, if I wasn’t praying for the their best, I was hoping for their worst. If they really felt the weight of my trauma, it had the power sent them into a level of depression that would completely crush them. Even worse, it could’ve killed them.
So for the first time, I began to pray for them. I went into our bedroom closet, went to the floor and began to intercede on their behalf for God’s best for them. Similar to Joseph I prayed that instead of remorse that they would experience the restorative power of God’s grace. I prayed for their success. I prayed for their families. I prayed for their healing. I want you to know that this was the moment that things shifted in my life. This was the moment I truly forgave. I took the focus off of my hurt, trauma and pain and placed it on the gift of God’s grace and immediately I became unstuck. Immediately, I began to experience the flow go God’s grace in, out and through my life. For the first time in a long time, I experienced the limitless well of God’s Spirit as no longer did I have to manufacture the fruit of the Spirit, instead they flowed from a place of abundance.
My prayer for you is that you would make the decision to put aside your desires of remorse and engage in the rhythms of grace by praying for the person(s) that have hurt you the most. I believe through this act of faith, healing will begin to take place in your life and those around you.
I'm praying with you and for you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
These are the 5 Keys to Forgiveness:
- Give Grace
- Rebuke
- Forgive Deeply and Quickly
- Forgive even if they don’t repent
- Pray for them
The first four we covered each day this week so be sure to go to podcast show page or download the Thryve Church App and tap Podcasts at the top to find all of the episodes of Prayer 365. Either way, make sure you check out each episode and review the written notes for the devotionals. I believe this weeks theme has the power to change your life! Now let’s move forward into today’s devotion.
In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus says these words: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Jesus: the author and finisher of our faith says when it comes to our enemies to love them and God those who hurt us, pray for them. PRAY FOR THEM. P-R-A-Y, pray for them. As you can see, I’m making it a point to be very clear in what I’m saying. I’m doing this because somewhere between the moment these words were captured by our eyes, heard through our ears and translated through our minds to moment of their realization in our lives, it seems that something has gotten crossed. We say out of our mouths, "Pray for them” (P-R-A-Y) but the actions of our hearts say “Prey on them!” (P-R-E-Y). Jesus tells us to pray for them, but our lives demonstrate “Prey on them.” These two words sound just a like, but have completely different meanings. But I believe they describe how far away we’ve drifted from what God requires of us.
Just earlier this year, I was seeking God for a breakthrough. I felt drained, apathetic, and narcissistic. I knew that there was a problem, it was clear to me that my feelings and actions did not align with God’s will for my life. I felt like I was artificially manufacturing the fruit of the Spirit instead of growing them by the Spirit, pouring from a place of emptiness. I was living with a spiritual deficit. After much prayer and seeking the face of God for a true change in my life, He showed me the source of my problem. It was an unforgiving heart towards those who had hurt me deeply in years past.
This was made aware to me after I watched a testimony of someone who had gone through something similar. His name is Kevin Levar, the singer/songwriter who wrote the song titled "A Heart that Forgives.” In his testimony, He described how God told him that He had a Joseph size blessing for him but he didn’t possess a Joseph size heart. Would you be willing to give them Goshen if I asked you to? Let me briefly explain the history of Joseph’s life:
Joseph was sold into slavery by His brothers, thrown into prison because of a lie told by his master’s wife, however, God turned things around in his favor, transitioning Joseph from the prison to the palace where he was made governor over the land of Egypt. As governor, he encountered the same brothers that sold him into slavery but they didn’t recognize him. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers in Genesis 45, they were overtaken with fear. Yet he told them, “do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” There’s so much to talk about but I want you to see what happens in verses 9 and 10: “Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen…”
Now let me remind you of the where we were in the testimony: Kevin expressed being told by God, "I have a Joseph sized blessing for you, but you don’t yet possess a Joseph sized heart.” This then led to the question, “Would you be willing to give them Goshen if I asked you to?” You see, Goshen was the best land of all of Egypt. Essentially this means, are you willing to give them my best? As believers it is our responsibility to be a walking demonstration of God’s best and this is manifested greatest through our love.
As I began to reflect on my response to the trauma I experienced through betrayal, rejection and abandonment I realized that my greatest desire was a sense of remorse from those who had hurt me. An apology wasn’t enough, I wanted them to feel the weight of their actions and the impact they left on my heart. So when it came to the question of giving them God’s best, it was clear that I had not desired this. In that moment it became clear that I could not remember the last time I had prayed for them. I may have said some generic things, but the prayer in my heart was for their remorse. Instead of praying for them, I was preying on them. Without realizing it, I wanted the worst for them. You see, if I wasn’t praying for the their best, I was hoping for their worst. If they really felt the weight of my trauma, it had the power sent them into a level of depression that would completely crush them. Even worse, it could’ve killed them.
So for the first time, I began to pray for them. I went into our bedroom closet, went to the floor and began to intercede on their behalf for God’s best for them. Similar to Joseph I prayed that instead of remorse that they would experience the restorative power of God’s grace. I prayed for their success. I prayed for their families. I prayed for their healing. I want you to know that this was the moment that things shifted in my life. This was the moment I truly forgave. I took the focus off of my hurt, trauma and pain and placed it on the gift of God’s grace and immediately I became unstuck. Immediately, I began to experience the flow go God’s grace in, out and through my life. For the first time in a long time, I experienced the limitless well of God’s Spirit as no longer did I have to manufacture the fruit of the Spirit, instead they flowed from a place of abundance.
My prayer for you is that you would make the decision to put aside your desires of remorse and engage in the rhythms of grace by praying for the person(s) that have hurt you the most. I believe through this act of faith, healing will begin to take place in your life and those around you.
I'm praying with you and for you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
Did you know that Thryve Church prays together 365 days a year? Join us Monday-Friday at 6:30am & Saturdays at 8am for "Prayer at the Altar" by dialing 339- 207-7471 and then join us Sundays at 11am for Worship Service! Learn More