Never stop praying:
Matthew 26:36-39 says, Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Grief and anguish came over him, and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went a little farther on, threw himself face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.”
Jesus had just shared the passover supper with his disciples and gone to Gesthemane to pray. He knew that he was going to be crucified shortly and he was overcome with grief. You know that kind of anxiety where your guts turn to liquid? It was like that but worse, because he wasn't about to speak in front of the whole school or sit an exam—he was about to take the sin of the whole world! He didn't want to suffer but he prayed that God's will would be done, not his. This is a principle we can apply to our prayer. We can ask God for what we want, but we should pray that God's will would be done. In the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:10 Jesus said we should pray, Let your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Try it this week. Some versions of this verse say, 'lead us not into temptation.' The original Greek word for temptation can also be translated trials. It could refer to either temptations or difficult situations. Jesus prayed that God would save him from the trial of being hung on a cross if it was possible.
James 1:13 says, Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others. James 1:2-3 says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. These verses in James also use the same Greek word, which translates and temptation and trial, as in Matthew 6. Regardless of whether these verses are referring to being tempted by sin or tried by difficult circumstances, the fact remains that God doesn't test or tempt us, that's just part of living in a fallen world. When we are tempted and tested it tests our faith and helps us to persevere. The second part of the verse is a request to be delivered from the Evil One, his temptations, power and influence. Jesus taught us to ask for forgiveness but he reminded us that we have to forgive others too. The Bible makes it very clear that forgiving others is a prerequisite for receiving forgiveness. Matthew 6:14-15 says, If you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you, your Father in heaven will forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. These verses are very clear. YOU MUST FORGIVE OTHERS IF YOU WANT GOD TO FORGIVE YOU.
We live in a cancel culture where if you offend or upset someone, you're cancelled out. Here are some more verses from the Bible about forgiveness: Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when someone won’t stop doing wrong to me, how many times must I forgive them? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive them more than seven times. You must continue to forgive them even if they do wrong to you seventy-seven times. Ephesians 4:32 Forgive each other the same as God forgave you through Christ. Colossians 3:13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. God has generously forgiven us when we didn't deserve it and we should generously forgive others when they don't deserve it. |
About UsShort and sweet inspirations for Christian teen girls. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|