Overheard Comment Grace

We were in a public building recently when the person sitting next to me commented loudly about the lady on the bench was smoking one of those vape pipes inside the building. The thing is, the person commenting was only about ten feet away from the person smoking the pipe and could probably hear the comment.

I was always taught that you don't talk about people, especially when they might hear it and get their feelings hurt. I mentioned that she might be able to hear, but the commenter really didn't care. This was frustrating, because I was offending the person making the comment by not indignantly joining in and possibly overhearing. I didn't want to be rude to either, so I said a brief prayer asking for Overheard Comment Grace. 

The person with the vape pipe put it away, probably because she overheard, but didn't remark about it. The person making the comment stopped, because there was no issue to address, at that point. I was just pleased that Christ took care of the situation and my frustration, because I wasn't sure how to handle either! Fortunately, He always does!

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?