I played her hurtful, stinging words again and again in my mind. Like a child touching a wound over and over again. And every time I touched it, it hurt worse.
My mind began to spiral down, a tailspin of self-pity. Why? Why did I deserve to be treated like this? Slowly I slid, I could think of little offenses, of slights, of insults … sliding, sliding, sliding …
Wait! This is not where I want to go! God is so gracious, His word is clear: Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (1 Cor 10:5).
I start talking to myself instead of listening to myself: Thoughts, I command you to obey Christ! Love keeps no record of wrongs, it does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant and does not demand its own way, it believes the best, always hopes, always endures.
And it never fails.
He brings the Word to mind, cleanses out the filth.
And He gives me a little perspective of what persecution really is.
Pastor Chandler in South Asia, opposed from every direction, even denied a place to live so he and his family slept in the church. Or Nihal Gohain who was dragged out of his shop and beaten severely, because he was a Christian. Or Bandhu Pillai and his family who were cut off from all family when they received Christ and even not allowed to use the village well, forcing the family to walk to another village to get water.Or Pastor Bashuda who was attacked on his bike and literally beaten unconscious and left for dead. Three months later he is still suffering excruciating pain in his head and is asking for prayer.
Oh Jesus, we desperately need your perspective.
Beautifully, the answer to all of this–whether real persecution of the kind that’s in our heads–is the same:
Prayer.
Jesus’ words are clear and I read them this morning:
“I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven …” Matthew 5:45
Whether we’ve endured a blow to the head or to the heart, whether our body is injured or merely our ego, the answer is still prayer. Pray for those who persecute you (or who just rub you the wrong way).
And pray for those who are truly suffering for Christ.
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3
How? A few ways: (A fabulous and extensive list here.)
1. Pray for clear, bold, fearless declaration of the gospel.
“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Ephesians 6:19-20
“Devote yourselves to prayer… praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.” Colossians 4:2-4
2. That they will have genuine joy sharing in the sufferings of Christ.
“…accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one.” Hebrews 10:34
“Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:12
“but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.” I Peter 4:13
3. That their suffering would make them trust God more than every before.
“For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
4. For their physical protection and deliverance.
“So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.” Acts 12:5
“For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance (from jail) through your prayers.” Philippians 1:19
“I hope that through your prayers I shall be given to you (from jail).” Philemon 22
“Now I urge you, brethren… to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea.” Romans 15:30-31
Praying for the persecuted provides us the perspective we so desperately need.
{Will you join me today, and take 5 minutes and turn our eyes off ourselves and devote those minutes to praying for the persecuted church in our world? If you have time, check out stories at gfa.org or Voice of the Martyrs. Just for some precious perspective to help us pray? Thanks so much for reading … and praying.}
