Tag: ask

FORGIVENESS

Recently it really hit me that it is a wonderful thing to ask for forgiveness right away. If you do something that you need to be forgiven for, don’t delay.  Do your part to apologize and rectify the situation as soon as you can.  That way, you will not have that bad feeling hanging over your head.

I will admit I have been stressed about work lately because we are short one worker, meaning there is extra work to do, and I have vacation time to take.  But, somehow I have to get all the work done with working less hours than I had been. There are also several items with certain deadlines to meet.

So, I was at work bright and early on a Monday morning when I got a phone call asking if I was going to take care of some paperwork.  It was a day where my tasks were to be all doing one task, namely payroll.  Anyway, I felt my blood pressure rising as I was talking with this lady.  I could not stop the bad tone or the words that I regretted as soon as I said them.

As soon as I got off the phone, I sent the lady an email apologizing for my bad attitude and basically asking for forgiveness.  It just felt like the right thing to do. Much to my surprise, she responded by saying, “No worries.”  Her responding that way brought me relief.  I did not want  to strain our relationship and have to wonder if she was mad at me whenever we interacted.

origin_10691106926Photo courtesy of Kerolic under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA/2.0)

Two days later, bright and early the phone rings again, and it is the same lady. So, I think right away, okay, have a good attitude. But, much to my surprise, when I answered, she jokingly says, “Is this grumpy?” It made us both laugh and start the day off right. To this day, it makes me smile when I think about it or when I talk with this lady.

And, it is a great reminder to make something “right” as soon as you can.  It is a great relief to release it and be free once again.

“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  –Matthew 6:11-12

PRAYING FOR OTHERS

Recently I have taken seriously the gift of praying for other people.  There are so many people who need prayer, and it is an honor to be able to join in and pray for those who need it.  Prayer is neat because you can really do it anytime and anywhere…whether you are driving somewhere , taking a quick break from work , or when you are rocking a baby to sleep.

What renewed and inspired my praying for others was when the road pastor for Third Day, Nigel James, put a tweet out about praying for the band as they were working on a new album. At that time I committed to it via a tweet. For me, I figured as I was driving to and from work three times a week listening to their music, I would pray for God to bless their new album and work on it. My prayers for them was not just limited to that time, but that was the minimum.

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From left to right: Mark Lee, Mac Powell, Nigel James, Tai
Anderson, David Carr, Scotty Wilbanks

I continued to do so while they were working on the album, and then I felt compelled to take each of the band members and pray for a whole week at a time for one specific member, their family, their music, etc.   I felt it was also a nice gesture to try to let them know via social media that I was praying specifically for them.   It made my day when one member replied that he appreciated it.  I know the Lord is blessing them through the prayers, and I feel good doing what I felt led to do whether they respond or not.

When learning of a few other musicians that have been working on special projects, I have since expanded to include them in my weekly prayers.

It is an honor to be able to pray for people which usually ends up being in their time of need.  I’m sure we all know of a friend who has lost a loved one, someone struggling with a chronic illness, the student needing prayer to help them survive their intense classes, the worker so overwhelmed with the stress of work, and the list goes on and on.  Praying for them can make a difference in their life, and you will feel blessed in praying for them.

So I encourage you to pray for those you know who need prayer. There are so many needs in the world today, and you can help make a difference by praying. Letting the person know you have been praying specifically for them should bless them too.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  –James 5:16