When Holy Spirit corrects your prayer


Do you ever cringe when something embarrassing happens to another person? Whether your friend is driving and another driver yells at them for forgetting to use their blinker, or if your cashier at the deli has a large booger hanging? What happens when you're in the embarrassing situation?

For me, I normally pray for God to handle those kinds of situations for me. Like the other day, I had sent a text to an acquaintance and immediately regretted it. It wasn't an awful text, but I still felt embarrassed of how they might take it, or if they would respond in a harsh way.

My heart was jumpy and I became fidgety. My husband said the text wasn't bad at all, that it'll be fine; but I still felt off. So I prayed.

I prayed for God to change their hearts, have them understand, to save me from embarrassment. But before I could finish my hysterical prayer, the Holy Spirit settled my heart with a prayer correction: pray for God to help you deal with any outcome.

I felt so convicted. But Holy Spirit was right, I needed a new prayer request. Instead of praying for God to change the situation -- which He could, because He can do anything -- pray for God to help me deal with the results of my own actions. To deal with the possible rejection or to face what people might say.

How many times do we pray for God to intervene for us, to save us from humiliation? It's like never allowing a child lose a game. Then that child won't be able to handle real life situations or learn how to have healthy competition in life.

When you pray for God to control others and situations it leaves you untouched; removing you from the situation completely. How, then, can we face oppositions, or deal with conflict if we keep trying to avoid it? Is our pride way more important to us than truth? We can't keep running away from allowing ourselves to feel certain feelings. Feelings like rejection, shame, guilt, or confusion.

Even Jesus has to face rejection; we reject him all the time. But that doesn't stop him from pursuing us; his love covers all shame.

What if you could face anything? It's frustrating when you continue to live in fear of being misunderstood or worried about a person disliking you. Face it. It's only by going through these situations we can be over comers; dressed with strength -- not fear.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
— 1 Peter 5:6-7

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
— Psalm 34:18

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
— Isaiah 53:3

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