Keep My Mouth Shut Grace

Well, I had a situation where someone said something less than favorable to someone else about me, in jest. I didn't think it was very funny, although the person got a chuckle out of it. I wanted to tell the person that I didn't appreciate them joking around at my expense, but Christ gave me Keep My Mouth Shut Grace. 

 Although I kept my mouth shut, because of the instincts that Christ gave me, I was harboring resentments toward the person who was being funny, at my expense. I, again, had to turn it over to Christ's very capable hands, because I wanted to stay mad at the person and that's not what Christ wanted. Fortunately, after praying about it again, the tension left my shoulders and I didn't feel the urge to say hateful and rude things back to the person. That wouldn't have done anyone any good and even though it seems like I would have felt relieved, I would have felt terrible for stooping to that level and not being the example that Christ wants me to be.


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?