1 Minute Daily Devotions
June 26, 2008
Revenge - The Wrong Way To Pray
"Do not judge lest you will be judged. For in the same way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. " - Matthew 7:1-2
Do you ever wish that certain people got what you felt they deserved--especially people who have wronged you? Do some people seem to get away with murder and not face any kind of punishment or repercussion?
You may have seen the cartoon with three panels:
Panel #1: A zealous character is praying to the Almighty. He says, "God, smite my worst enemy!"
Panel #2: The man praying this prayer is struck by lightning.
Panel #3: The man groggily says, "God, let me rephrase that!"
Be careful what you pray for because sometimes you might find your own worst enemy is yourself. Jesus Christ says, "Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge others you will be judged as well."
I hope that today you won't be so hard on others, because one day the gavel may fall on you.
Comments on this Devotion
From Ginny on Sep 24th:
I would love to have a copy of this cartoon to hang at my desk as a daily reminder. Where might I find it? Thank you.
From Jerry on Jun 26th:
We are all guilty of this at some time or another. It sure is great to know that God does not do this but he will judge in a way that there will be no question as to my guilt. God Bless all.
From Melanie on Jun 26th:
Such a good devotion! I need to remember to worry about my own sins. I also need to pray that those who have "done me wrong" will know Christ and experience his love and forgiveness. We all need mercy. It feels so good to give and receive it.
From Keith R. on Jun 26th:
I think that this devotion is probably talking about someone that gets on your nerves or your next door neighbor that you do not like because his dog barks all the time.
It could even be talking about that person who killed a family member in a car crash because they were drunk or the person that raped your sister. In these cases, you're right. God said "vengeance is mine." No one will ever do to us what we have done to the Lord and He still loves and forgives us. So we are to do the same.
However, if someone is truely hindering your walk with the Lord or the advancement of the gospel then asking God to take care of those people is all throughout the Bible. David, Joshua and other leaders of the old testament repeatably ask God to help them defeat their enemies and in Jehoshaphats case God just killed them for him.
On Monday, as I was reading in 2 Timothy chapter 4 where Paul was telling Timothy that he had been abandoned by Demas and some of the others normally with him and that Alexander the coppersmith had done him much harm to which Paul replied, "May the Lord repay him according to his works."
We just need to beware of our motives and ask ourselves are these people against me or God.
From Matthew on Jun 30th:
I am guilty of lashing out at other's in hate when things aren't going as I want and it's a selfish thing. It's also hiding a more underlying problem with ones self development. That can be in their relationship with god or just personal improvement goals in general. I have come to understand that the more I leave in gods hands while working to better myself as a person, the less hate and anger I have.