A Prayer for Those Who Have Wronged Us
By: Emily Rose Massey
Bible Reading:
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” - 1 Peter 4:8, ESV
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My husband and I run an online ministry that helps people on their Christian journey out of the prosperity gospel movement - a movement that proclaims that the blood of Jesus has purchased for all believers a promised life of health, wealth, and abundance in earthly pleasures. This is a dangerously false message and undermines the beauty of the finished work of Christ, which brings justification and forgiveness. The teachings in this movement can truly shipwreck someone’s faith - we ourselves were ensnared by this false teaching, so it is something he and I are very passionate about defending against and proclaiming the truth whenever possible.
On this ministry journey, we have met others who share a similar passion as we do to help protect others from wolves in sheep’s clothing. Taking strong stances against popular teachers who are in the public eye means that some will not be thrilled with your ministry. Having others to link arms with to stand against false teaching online makes the pushback easier to handle, and it also emboldens you to continue warning of error and proclaiming the truth. You can imagine how one might feel when one of those people who stood strong with you, warning of these false teachers, suddenly turns back and begins embracing those wolves as brothers in Christ. I can tell you from personal experience, it is gut-wrenching to witness and experience. The temptation I have faced in this experience - especially after they would not heed warnings or corrections - is to want to back this person into a corner and expose them and their seemingly manipulative tactics as well.
Any situation that stirs up strong emotional responses - especially those of hurt, offense, and disappointment - needs the direction and wisdom of Scripture to bring clarity to those intense and very valid emotions. We must not let our flesh dictate our actions in this situation. When we are led by the Spirit, it means that we are putting to death the ways of the flesh, because the sins and desires of the flesh are contrary to the Spirit.
This is not a passive or mysterious “leading” or “subjective feeling” but rather an active, ever-present fight in the life of the believer to learn what it means to walk in love, be gracious and merciful, and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Thankfully, we, as disciples of Christ, are not left to human subjectivity and confusion in this leading; we have God’s word as a lamp to our feet in a world of darkness and sin (Psalm 119:105).
As far as putting to death the desire to slander, malign, or be harsh to those who have seemingly wronged us, disappointed us, or intentionally (or unintentionally) hurt us, the scripture that comes to mind that both brings conviction and direction can be found in 1 Peter 4:8: “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
When I am tempted to expose someone’s wrongdoing or sin towards me or others, the Bible urges me to love them by covering them with grace and mercy instead. For me, one way I applied this to my situation was by deleting screenshots I had saved on my phone of the hurtful and error-filled things that had been said online. I was attempting to build a case against this person - to truly “put them in their place.” However, ultimately, I needed to pray for this individual and be mindful of my words about them to others. Instead of “stalking” their ministry page online, I chose to unfollow and mute their posts (even if for a season) because it was causing bitterness and a cynical attitude to rise up in my heart about them. In those moments when I am hurt, upset, or offended, I must extend grace.
Let’s Pray:
Father God,
Help me extend grace to those who have wronged me. Allow me to lovingly rebuke, correct, or warn when necessary, because that is also an extension of love towards others. But after that difficult confrontation has taken place, help me release that situation to You, Lord. You alone will be the One to vindicate if I truly have been wronged or sinned against.
Help me to rest in Your sovereignty and trust that You will work in that person’s heart as well as mine as You teach me to truly love others as You do. Above all, I must remember that every person is made in Your image, and they deserve love and respect no matter their actions or words towards me. May the love and mercy that has been given to me from You, Lord, flow to the most difficult of people in my life.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Charday Penn
Related Resource: Things Jesus Never Said: 7 Common Misconceptions Christians Still Believe
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