Counsels on Relationships

Counsel #6 — Pray For The Annoying

Picture: Counsel #6 — Pray for the Annoying CR 8.1

Pray for the peers who annoy you the most.^[6] Ask God to give you compassion and forgiveness for them, and to help you treat them with genuine care. With His help you can return good for evil. Sometimes “heaping coals of fire” (Proverbs 25:22) on your enemy’s head by being kind to them results in gaining a new friend! CR 8.2

“I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44 NKJV CR 8.3

“We may never know until the judgment the influence of a kind, considerate course of action to the inconsistent, the unreasonable, and unworthy. If, after a course of provocation and injustice on their part, you treat them as you would an innocent person—you even take pains to show them special acts of kindnesses—then you have acted the part of a Christian, and they become surprised and ashamed and see their course of action and meanness more clearly than if you plainly stated their aggravated acts to rebuke them.” Ellen White in Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 432.3 CR 8.4

Reflect: When peers treat you badly, do you pray for them? In what ways can you show them special acts of kindness? CR 8.5