"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV I was sitting in church one Wednesday night, overwhelmed with anger. Someone had hurt me, and I felt they weren't acting the way they should. I thought my sins weren't as bad as theirs, so I felt justified. But then, the Lord gently reminded me that I was wrong. I realized I was judging this person, and that was a sin in itself. God is holy, and my behavior was no better than theirs. I felt convicted and was moved to tears. The Holy Spirit whispered to me, "If you really love them, you would pray for their best, regardless of their behavior." That realization hit me hard. I admitted to myself that I didn’t truly love them as I claimed. My actions showed that I wanted them to act a certain way for my benefit. I remembered the verses from Numbers 6 and knew I needed to pray for G...
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
I was sitting in church one Wednesday night, overwhelmed with anger. Someone had hurt me, and I felt they weren't acting the way they should. I thought my sins weren't as bad as theirs, so I felt justified. But then, the Lord gently reminded me that I was wrong. I realized I was judging this person, and that was a sin in itself. God is holy, and my behavior was no better than theirs. I felt convicted and was moved to tears. The Holy Spirit whispered to me, "If you really love them, you would pray for their best, regardless of their behavior."
That realization hit me hard. I admitted to myself that I didn’t truly love them as I claimed. My actions showed that I wanted them to act a certain way for my benefit. I remembered the verses from Numbers 6 and knew I needed to pray for God to bless them, even though they had hurt me. It wasn’t easy, especially since I didn’t know if our relationship would ever be the same. But I kept praying. This happened two years ago, and recently, I found myself hurt by someone else. Before letting my emotions take over, I remembered Numbers 6:24-26 and prayed for God to bless them too.
Being in any relationship means you’ll experience love and hurt. We hurt God every day with our sins, yet He doesn’t punish us as we deserve (Psalm 103:10-12). It's okay to feel upset when hurt, but we must not hold others to our standards. Instead, pray for the Lord to bless those who hurt you.
Note: This prayer is for times when you're hurt, not for abusive relationships.
Let's Pray:
Lord,
I'm sorry for the many times I've hurt You. I am a sinner in need of Your constant help. Please help me to be gracious and kind, even when others hurt me. Teach me to believe the best about others and not keep a record of wrongs. Help me to bless others and pray for them. I give my hurt to You. Please guide me in navigating my relationship with the one who hurt me. You know their heart and mine. Help us both to be more like You. If they don't know You, please help them come to know You. Thank You for loving me even when I'm unloving. Create a clean heart in me and renew my spirit. I surrender this hurt to You. Please bless the person who hurt me beyond what they can imagine.
I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.