9/20/20 Series: Gospel Shaped Church
Week 3: A Praying Life 1 Timothy 2:1-7
If there is one critical take-away from this sermon it is this: Pray before you talk.
Pray before you post.
Pray before you call.
Pray before you text. i.e. temper what comes out of you through the filter of a prayer for the benefit of the person you’re about to engage.
It used to be, think before you talk. But then maybe it still is if in the midst of your conversation, that, as you’re listening, your first thoughts are diverted into a Nehemiah type, “in the moment” prayer. See Nehemiah 2:4.
In nerve racking or emotionally charged conversations it can be hard to convert your thoughts directly into a prayer in the heat of the moment. But it is quite necessary. The alternative is whatever happens to come out of your mouth first. Some are better at reining in their words than others, but I think we all could benefit from the tempering of prayer in the midst of the back and forth. If you’re anything like me this kind of prayerful pause often makes the difference between words that crush and words that heal.
Pray even before you open your mouth.
Pray even before you start typing. Pray even before you dial that number. Pray even before you digitally shoot a text.
A posture of, ‘pray first - ask questions later’ can also prevent a multitude of unnecessary negative interactions from ever happening.
There isn’t anyone we shouldn’t be praying for. For some fun, but seriously, I named today National Pray a Blessing for Someone You Don’t Like Day. I wonder who actually took me up on it.
I also can’t help wondering if prayer for others, while having its intended effect for the prayed for, also returns to have as much effect on the pray-er, helping to mold their soul and spirit more into the image of Christ.…
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