Prayer for January 25, 2022

Prayer for January 25, 2022: Please pray with me. God who speaks to us, you come in a variety of ways. Do we listen? Do we listen even when your words are inconvenient? We much prefer to listen when we can see how you match up with our arguments and beliefs. But when we do, we put ourselves in your place assuming that you have to align with us. We take your holy Scripture and abuse it and use it as a weapon in our arguments against others. We take your words and mangle them to dehumanize and separate — the exact opposite of what you are all about. Why do we do this? Forgive us please. And open our ears to hear. Soften our hearts to take in what you are saying. Let your words flow through us, give us life, and be spread to others to release them from the bondages of this world. Amen.

Call to Action: Be careful in using Scripture. If you can use Scripture to make an argument, but conveniently discard it when it can be used against you, then you may want to reconsider. Scripture should be where we go to first to begin the discussion, not be seen as a weapon to settle a dispute. If Scripture is used to defeat someone, you aren’t using it properly. Scripture should set people free. It should add value to a person. It should be good news. Use it accordingly.

Originally published at https://pastormatthewbest.com on January 25, 2022.