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| Help Me To Forgive |
When I was growing up, I remember there was this lady in the congregation at our church that my mother really, really did not like. She had a very strong personality that just aggravated my mother… and she really struggled to like this lady. Actually, she had a strong dislike for her. Just the sound of her voice made my mother cringe.
My mom said that one day the Lord told her to start praying for this lady. He said, “Every time you pray for your own children, I want you to also pray for her, and her children.” At first it was a struggle. She did it out of obedience but was not really sincere about it.
My mother prayed for her own three children faithfully and would also add the lady at church. “Oh yeah, and Lord please bless that lady and her three children too.”
This went on for quite some time, out of habit, until my mother noticed that she didn’t dislike the lady quite as much as she thought. Eventually all of the offense had disappeared, and she and the lady became really good friends, and the friendship remained for many, many years, even after they had both left that church... proving that it is impossible to remain angry with someone that you pray for on a regular basis.
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There was this young man that would drive up and down our street with his loud, roaring car. He had modified it in some way to cause it to sound like he was at a drag strip. He would pass our house, drive around the block, and come back through several more times. This angered me so badly that I can’t even put it into words.
One day as I looked out the window, I saw him pass our house and turn at the corner to make the block again. For some strange reason, I just began to pray for his salvation. I prayed the Lord would convict him and draw this young man with cords of loving kindness, and cause him to know what real true joy is. True joy is not getting a kick out of disrupting the peace and quiet of the neighborhood. It is coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ personally and having a one-on-one relationship with Him. Out of that relationship comes an unspeakable joy that stands out over anything else.
The prayer coming from my heart for this young man was so overwhelming that I fought back the tears welling up in my eyes. I have not heard him drive by anymore. God answered my prayers. The aggravation that I was feeling toward him went away. When I would think about him, I genuinely wanted him to obtain that joy that only comes from knowing Christ.
Jesus said, “Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” It may… or may not change them, but it will always change you.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove 🕊