Controlling Grace

There have been times in my life when someone else has tried to control my actions, what I say, think or do over the years. It doesn't matter whether it's in a social setting, at work, a family situation, or something totally different.

Recently, someone jumped on my case for talking to someone else. They thought I was going against their explicit instructions to not get involved in a matter. Since someone was in need, I still felt led to try to help out on some level and made arrangements to do so, which irritated the controlling person.

The controlling person conveyed less than kind things to me and my first instinct was to say exactly what I thought and put them in their place. I prayed for Controlling Grace, although I reluctantly accepted it. My urge was to respond back in kind, but then, I wouldn't have been an example of Christ's Grace in my life. After praying for it several more times, I was finally able to relinquish the anger that welled within me and let go of the situation. 

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?