Bless & Don't Stress!

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Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the Truth Podcast Network. James, author of the bestselling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray. And now, here's James. So the title of today's Encouraging Prayer segment is Bless and Don't Stress. So, James, it sounds a little bit like, don't worry, be happy. Yeah, it does.

And you're actually not too far off with that, Robbie. I'm thinking of something Paul wrote in Romans 12, 14. Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them. Instead, pray that God will bless them. Yeah, and that makes me think about what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Luke 6, 28. He said, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.

That's right. And we really need to talk about this, especially in the polarized times we live in. So many people are at odds in one way or another, but Jesus says that if we do this, if we bless others, our reward will be great.

And we will be, in Luke 6, 35, he says, children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. So, let's talk about how could we do this in our everyday life? Because, you know, that ain't so easy.

No, it ain't. I mean, we have to practice. It helps to think through it beforehand. So, let's talk about something everyone can relate to, and that's road rage. A year or so ago, I was on the road with an older couple, a beautiful Christian couple, going onto the freeway in heavy rain, and apparently they weren't going fast enough for the guy behind us, and he laid on the horn, and their immediate response surprised me. They just said, God bless you. And it wasn't with the tone I would have set it with. You know, I wanted to bless the guy, but not like that.

Their tone was so loving, and I sensed in my spirit right then, wow, they're right. Yeah, so the word blessed, when Jesus uses it, also means happy. So, does that mean that we should pray for those who mistreat us to be happy?

Well, that's a challenging thought, isn't it? But yeah, I mean, if you think about it, people who are unkind to others usually are miserable themselves, so I think that's the right direction. And isn't that the thought behind so many blessings in the Bible?

Lord, make this person happy in one way or another. And remember again what Jesus said, God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, so when we push back, well, he doesn't deserve to be happy. It helps to remember that we don't deserve anything from God either. Yeah, that's so true. I mean, he's been good to us in spite of ourselves.

Exactly. So, going back to that incident in the car, this is, again, something I've got to work on, but it has to do with Jesus' joy in our hearts and lives just flowing out of us and into others. And though we often think of Jesus as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, the writer to the Hebrews also tells us that it was because of the joy that was set before him that he endured the cross.

And Hebrews 1-9 tells us that God anointed Jesus with joy, so this is all tied together. Yeah, so let's talk some practical examples of that. Well, one in particular comes to mind. It's from Katherine Marshall, who really was an inspiration for this talk. She really got me thinking about it. In her book Adventures in Prayer, she writes about this, so let me just read a bit from her. She writes, Some years ago, I knew of a home in Washington, D.C., which was full of tension because of an aunt's nagging fault-finding with the children. Ellen, the mother of the children, did much praying about the situation, mostly that God would take away the aunt's hypercritical attitude.

Nothing at all seemed to happen. As a result, Ellen became increasingly resentful of the aunt's attitude and presence in her home. One afternoon, Ellen, whom I had known for many years, brought by her home to return a borrowed book.

I know I must look like a wreck. She apologized. I feel like a ball knocked back and forth between the children and between Auntie. And in the midst of discussing her problem, I had a sudden inspiration. You've been asking God to change your aunt's disposition, and you say she's more fault-finding than ever, so why not forget about trying to change your aunt and just ask God to bless her in anything and everything? Ellen looked astonished. You mean I should ask God to bless Auntie, whether she deserves it or not?

Before I could answer, my friend had a counterthought. I see it, Ellen said thoughtfully. I guess none of us deserves anything from God, do we? That's exactly my thought, I told Ellen.

Nothing we could ever do would be good enough to earn a scrap or a rag from his hands. Then, Catherine, let's try your idea, but will you pray with me about it right now? Of course, but remember, Ellen, when you ask God to bless someone, what you're really saying is make him or her happy. That's the literal meaning of blessing in the Bible, happiness. As I recall, Ellen's prayer went something like this, Lord, I know it's your will that we be happier in our house than we have been, and I know that can't happen while any of us is unhappy. Bless Auntie now in whatever way she needs, give her the gift of happiness, help the children to love and respect her, and show me how I can be kinder to her. Amen. A week later, my friend telephoned. Ellen said that day by day her prayer was being abundantly answered.

The atmosphere here at home is completely different, she said. You know this blessing business is dynamite. But I still don't understand why that prayer was answered when none of the others were. Why would there be such power in wishing joy for someone?

Wow, that's awesome. So, let's go there. I mean, why do you think there's so much power in praying like that? Well, I think it's just after God's heart. We act like his children when we pray like that, like Jesus said. And again, I don't know about you, but I know I need to do this more than I do, especially in these times that we're living in. Oh man, you're like talking to Noah about the flood here.

Oh, I really need it. So, let's try this and see how it goes, because really what it's doing is also helping us let go of a critical spirit, and we really do need to do that. That's so true, Ravi, because Jesus' joy is waiting for us, if we will have it. And you know he wants us to. And what this ultimately comes down to is praying for others to know him, because he's the greatest happiness of all. So, let's close today by asking for God's help with this, to help us bless, even when it's difficult, and to genuinely want others to be happy, especially in him. Let's pray. Lord, we can't do this unless you help us, and so we ask that you do.

And you know the situations that come immediately to mind as we think about this. So, Lord, help us to bless. We want to be your very own in this. Holy Spirit, fill us, lead us. Help us to bless. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.