One of the most important lessons I have learned from Scripture is that I often pray without realizing I’m doing it. These unintentional prayers can have unintended consequences. It’s one of the reasons I am so focused on memorizing the Word. I need all the help, all the reminders I can get!
I confess: I am not always on my best behavior. “Mr. Wonderful” does not always treat others as well as he should.
Worse, it’s sometimes the people dearest to me I fail to treat well. Which is scary for two reasons:
1. These are the people I should be treating the best.
2. According to Scripture, how I treat others is actually a prayer, as though I was asking God to treat me the very same way. That’s a scary thought.
That’s why when I began memorizing Scripture, I reviewed 1 Peter 3:7.
Every. Day.
For over a year.
The verse is a reminder that we are to treat our mates with respect, in spite of their flaws. If we treat them badly, it could cause God to apply the brakes to our answers to prayer.
None of us wants that.
When I am fair and just in my business dealings, I am also asking God to treat me the same way.
Psalm 112:1-3
When I am kind and hospitable to strangers, I am asking God to treat me the same way.
Hebrews 13:2
When I am considerate and respectful of my mate, in spite of their weaknesses and flaws, I am asking God to forgive my weaknesses and flaws.
1 Peter 3:7
When I show love to foreigners, being generous to them, I am acknowledging my Creator is also theirs. I am asking God to treat me the same way.
Deuteronomy 10:17-19
When I set apart a certain portion of my God-given resources to show generosity to the poor, I am asking Him to be generous toward me.
Leviticus 23:22
When I show contempt for another person, even if they cut in front of me in line, even if they run me off the road, I am forgetting they too are created in God’s image. I am asking God to treat me with contempt also.
Romans 14:10
When I mock a person’s sickness, poverty, burdens or misfortune, I am asking God to do the same to me.
Proverbs 17:5
When I am cruel and mean-spirited, showing contempt for creatures He made in His image, I am telling God this is how I want to be treated.
Proverbs 11:17
God is watching especially to see how I treat those who are not in a position to help me or promote me in any way:
My employees, those who serve me
Deuteronomy 24:14-15
Children & the defenseless
Ephesians 6:4
The poor, the weak, the destitute
Leviticus 25:43
The orphan, the widow, the suffering
James 1:27
As God’s ambassadors on this earth, God is paying attention to how we represent His character, how we represent Him!
Judging, condemning and showing contempt for others is really asking God to treat us the same way.
Luke 6:37-38
Forgiving others and being generous is also a form of prayer, a way to ask God for what we lack.
Luke 6:37-38
Psalm 37:3-4 offers us another recipe for answered prayer:
When we trust in the Lord, doing good to others while we are waiting for our prayers to be answered, occupying that place where He has planted us, feeding ourselves on His faithfulness, reminding ourselves to be thankful, making Him our delight, our primary source of joy and satisfaction, He will give us the desires of our heart.
I am feeling convicted by the above passage right now, recognizing I can become impatient with God’s people and with His timing. I think it’s time for me to go review my verses!
Until next week, Happy Memorizing!
Michael
“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.”
