CORNERED

One Sunday morning D. L. Moody walked into a house to take some children to Sunday school. During his visit three men backed him into a corner and threatened him. “Look here,” Moody said. “Give me a chance to say my prayers, won’t you?” The men actually allowed him to call out to God
and Moody prayed for them so genuinely that they left the room.

Had I been in that situation I might have called for help or looked for the back door. I’m not sure I would have acted on Jesus’ command to His followers: “Pray for those who ill-treat you” (LUKE 6:28).

Praying for the people who hurt us is one way to “do good to those who hate [us]” (V.27). Jesus explained that Christians get no credit for swapping acts of kindness with other ‘nice’ people. He said, “Even sinners do that” (V.33). However, being kind to mean people (ROMANS 12:14) sets us apart from them and shows we belong to God, because He is kind even to horrible people (LUKE 6:35).

Today if you feel ‘cornered’ by someone, look for safety if the situation calls for it and follow Jesus’ teaching: pray for that person (LUKE 23:34). Prayer is your best defence.

To pray about . . .

We want to know Your ways, God, and have Your wisdom to know how to handle difficult people. Give us patience to show kindness. Guide us, we pray.

RETURNING GOOD FOR GOOD IS GOOD;
RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL IS GODLY.

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries