A Prayer for Dealing with People Who Bring You Down
By Carrie Lowrance
A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. - 2 Timothy 2:24 (NLT)
We all have people in our lives who try to bring us down. You may have that one parent that tries to bring you down all the time. You could have a boss that is always criticizing you. Maybe you have a friend that is very subtle in tearing you down. It is so easy to get frustrated and angry at people who act like this. It is also easy to take their words to heart, cause them to stop us in our tracks, and never pursue the dream that the Lord has planted in us. As Christians, how should we deal with people like this?
Remember Our Value & Worth
- We must remember that our worth and value is not in those around us.
- Our value and worth are in the Lord.
- We all have value because we have all been blessed with talents and gifts.
- He has created all of us uniquely and we are all valuable to him beyond measure.
We Must Turn The Other Cheek And Keep Moving Ahead
- When people try to bring us down we must let if fall on deaf ears.
- We need to continue to pursue the dreams the Lord has placed in us and the roads on which He is leading us.
- If we are having an off day at work, forgive ourselves for the mistakes we make, and make an effort to enjoy the rest of our day.
- Listen closely to the Lord’s guidance in our hearts on how to specifically handle a situation.
Pray For Those Around Us
The most important thing we can do for these people (other than not lashing back) is to pray for them. Take the time to get to know the people that tear you down. Get inside their lives, thoughts and emotions. Then pray as specifically as you can about their situation. Reach out to them and help them if you can. If there is something they have always dreamed of doing, encourage them to go for it. If it is something you know a lot about, offer to mentor them. If they are suffering from past hurts but don’t know how to get past it, research some good, Christian therapists in your area and pass on the information. If they are struggling with a self-esteem issue, point out all the good characteristics and talents they have. Compliment them at least once a week when/if you see them. You never know what will become of the seeds you plant in love.
Pray for their salvation. It’s hard to know how to pray for someone when it comes to this matter. The best way I know to pray in this way, is to ask the Lord to reveal himself in a way that is unique to the individual. Ask the Lord to open their eyes, heart, mind and soul in a way that they have no doubt that He exists. In a way that would speak specifically to them.
Dear Lord,
Please help me when those around me try to bring me down. Allow me to recognize the hurts and issues in their lives and how I can be of help to them. Help me to keep my natural human tendencies in check and not to retaliate back. Quietly remind me where my true worth and value really lie. Give me comfort in knowing that You are leading me on a better path and give me the strength to continue pursuing it. Please clear my heart of any issues that will hinder me from praying for those around me. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
Editor’s Note: Content taken from the article, How to Deal with People Who Try to Bring You Down, written by Carrie Lowrance. You can read that piece in full here. All rights reserved.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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