Hateful Grace

I was in a big group of people recently. Someone I was talking to wanted to say something to my husband. I turned around quickly and went to get him. When I passed a woman in my haste, her eyes opened wide. Thinking of her reaction, I came back and apologized, jokingly saying that I wasn't going to knock her down.

 I was surprised to not see a smile on her face, but saw a scowl instead when she sternly said that if I had knocked her down, she would most definitely knock me down. I tried to play it off as a joke, but she wasn't joking. Her body was tense and she said it hatefully. Nothing I could do at that point was making a difference, so I prayed for Hateful Grace. I prayed it over and over again for that lady. I felt that if she was so angry and hateful, other things must be going on in her life to cause it. I prayed that God would heal her heart, heal her hate, her anger, etc.

I can't totally know this happened, but I know my Lord and He can do anything. It was much better for me to pray for her than for me to join in with an equally hateful response.

Example of a Brief Prayer

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Acts 15:11

I was with someone who was scooping up some free popcorn. They didn't ask me if I wanted any. The person told me that I should get a bag of popcorn and then took it from my hands. They wanted me to get the popcorn for them to eat later.

It's such a silly thing, but it really did irritate me. Didn't that person think about whether I wanted some or not? Couldn't they have asked me if I wanted some before they took it from my hands? I found myself getting frustrated at that person. Then, it popped into my mind that that's not what Christ wants of me. He wants me to be gracious to those who irritate me, but I was too frustrated to be gracious at that moment.

What I prayed was, "Popcorn Grace," and immediately Christ calmed me down, so that I didn't respond to the person in a less than positive manner. Although the "Popcorn Grace" prayer was very brief, I was asking Christ to please give me grace with this popcorn situation, so I would respond in a gracious manner, and He did! It amazed me that He knew and understood my brief prayer and granted me that grace, so I could be more gracious as an example of how He works in my life! I have continued to use these brief prayers which are changing my life and my response to others. If Christ can do this for me, He can most certainly do it for you, as well. Try it...what can it hurt?