So quite a few different times in the Bible it says things like “Pray for those who persecute you”, “Bless those who curse you”, etc. Basically when people act like jerks, wish them the best, not share a few choice phrases. That’s all well and good. So I think to myself (what a wonderful world?), ok cool I can do this. I’ll pray for them. They hurt me so deeply so I’ll pray that God blesses them.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the backlash of anger when my prayer got answered.
When I prayed that prayer of blessing, I wasn’t serious. I was doing it because it seemed like a good idea. Let’s follow the bible and what it says. I mean Jesus did it/said it so it has to have some value right? But then life started going great for them. Things started going right and they were by all standards being “blessed”. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect to be so mad. I looked at their life and felt like a child throwing a temper tantrum. I wanted to throw myself down and scream to God, “That’s NOT FAIR! They hurt me they were terrible and now you’re blessing them? What the heck! How is this right?” And you know what? It’s not right. It’s grace. The same grace that I’ve been extended has been extended to them and that’s a hard pill to swallow.
Maybe we need to be more cautious with what we’re praying? Or maybe we need to realize that there are certain principles that don’t return void. That there is a grander scheme in this thing called life. That there is grace.
Katie
