The Tormentor - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) - October 7, 2022

2 Corinthians 12:7-8 - ...Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

These words were written by Apostle Paul and for a long time, they made me scratch my head. Why would the Lord send someone or something to "torment" him? Why would such a great servant of God have to repeatedly ask to be free from his tormentor? It's hard for me to believe that this happened to Paul because he was being punished. It's not impossible, just hard to believe. So, we come back to the original question - why the need for the tormentor.

Over time, the Lord kindly opened my eyes to understand a few things. God will give His faithful servants something to endure, a tormentor of sorts. His servants have to rely on His grace to get through. They can't lean on their own understanding or prior experiences. One way the Lord clarified things to me was through an experience from a few years ago.

I was on a trip to a nearby state when a serious rain storm came out of nowhere. It was around 8pm at night and suddenly, visibility was zero. I couldn't see any cars on my sides, ahead or behind me. I turned on my hazards. While I could see a pair of flashing red lights in front of me, because of the amount of rain, I couldn't adequately gauge how far it was. Yet, I couldn't stop as I was on a highway and stopping would have meant an accident. I also couldn't pull over as I wasn't sure whether a car was beside me.

All I could do was keep going, trusting the Lord would bring me through the storm. And, glory to His name, He did.

This is what it means to rely on His grace when a tormentor, a test, or a trial arrives in your life. Don't stop moving with the Lord. Don't stop trusting Him. Definitely don't pull over. Move forward, relying on your Creator.

And this is a reason why God will allow for a tormentor in our lives - to teach us to rely on Him and Him alone. These experiences are never easy, but they are meant to teach us lessons, toughen us up, and equip us to serve Him in some way or another. If we switch our perspective, we'll realize God won't put us through something we are incapable of getting through victoriously. So, if He says you're up for job, you're good! Trusting in Him is the key to get through. I know He's teaching me this and I pray you will receive this message too.

May the Lord continue to help each of us as we deal with the tormentor trying to test us. May His grace remind us that He will never forsake us, no matter the trial we face. For He has promised that no weapon formed against us shall prosper, IJMN, Amen.

Please feel free to comment here or in the forum section at https://www.themiraclealley.com/forum/praise-pray/the-tormentor-friday-praise-pray-for-others-october-7-2022

Here are some helpful older P&P posts:

1. Trust God - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) June 30, 2020

2. Being Tested - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) September 29, 2020

3. When Things Go Wrong - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) October 13, 2020

4. Wait on God - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) May 18, 2021

5. Viable Seeds - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) June 29, 2021

6. He is For Me - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) August 10, 2021

7. The Pruning - Praise & Pray (for others) May 17, 2022

8. God's Discipline - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) September 16, 2022

9. The Tormentor - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) October 7, 2022

How do you love? - Praise & Pray (for others) October 4, 2022

Love is the truest mark of Christianity. This is because being a Christian goes beyond believing in Christ. In fact, the first Christians got that term because they were Christ-like (Acts 11:26).

To be Christ-like requires us to love like He did. Jesus spent hours teaching, healing, and blessing others. Would He have done any of this for the three years of His earthly ministry if He wasn't a man who loved and loved deeply? Surely, He would not have died for our sake.

As Christians, we have been called to do the same. 1 John 4:21 - And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

There are so many ways to show love. A kind word, gesture or a prayer. All these are good. However, we are also given a practical tip in 1 John 3:18 - Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

What if Jesus, knowing that the 3000 (and more) were hungry, simply told them to go home without feeding them? Instead, Jesus was practical in His love - He gave people what they needed, going so far to solve the problems they didn't even know they had as He did for the woman at the well.

So, how are we - those who claim to believe in Jesus - showing love in a Christ-like and practical manner? Are we encouraging others with God's word because the Holy Spirit tells us that's what they need? Are we giving a dollar to the man asking for help? Are we choosing not to buy that coffee or new shoes so that money goes to the local food bank? And if we're short on funds, are we giving of our time to volunteer at organizations that help the less fortunate?

God has called us to give love to others. The Royal Law commands us to love people as we love ourselves (James 2:8). If we are honest, we love ourselves a little too much. We refuse to be inconvenienced even when the Lord is tugging at our hearts to be a practical source of His love to someone in need.

Brothers and sisters, how do we show Christ-like love in the world we live in? I pray you will consider doing more than you've done in the past. That you'll give your "widow's mite" trusting that the Lord will return it double.

2 Corinthians 9:12-13 - This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

God bless you and guide you towards loving others even more, IJMN, Amen.

To read old related posts on the topic of love, please visit Topic: Love

PS: Visit the forum to participate - https://www.themiraclealley.com/forum/praise-pray/how-do-you-love-praise-pray-for-others-october-4-2022

Praise for others - Praise & Pray (for others) September 30, 2022

What are you going to praise God for today? You likely have a long list, right?

However, today, we're going to do things differently.

Last Friday, we took the time to join each other in faith by praying on the things our fellow Peppers were waiting on God for.

This day, we're thanking God for what He's done for other Peppers. This will honor the word as stated in Romans 12:15 - Rejoice with those who rejoice...

Guy's, I suspect God wants to do some big things for all of us. Let's take this seriously as we give Him praise for other people today.

God bless you!

PS: I'm chuckling right now because Holy Spirit is up to something. When I sat down to write, I had no idea this is what fellowship would be about. But, phew, this will show how many of us have been paying attention to what others have said in prior posts. Lol! May I recommend you take some time and look at old posts? Or, you can check out the Testimony thread to thank God for what He did for folks.