I was investing some time during the Covid debacle, praying about the
spirit of fear that I saw creating havoc in our nation. I needed to
drive a for a while, and I like making use of the time (“redeeming
the time” perhaps?).
I was praying about
the grip that fear had in our nation, but I was focusing on how I see
the grip working in my family and friends. Father had shown me
something of the enemy’s plans in that area, and I could see them
at work, like thorny vines wrapping around minds and wills and
squeezing life out of them.
(By the way, the
whole vaccine issue is powered by a spirit of fear [and some other
things]. Some folks are afraid of a virus, or of not complying with
authority, so they choose to get a vaccine. Other people are afraid
of the vaccine itself, or about the loss of civil liberties, so they
reject the vaccine.
Curiously, each
group accuses the other of being insensitive and of acting out of
fear. And probably most of those accusations are at least partly
right. But I digress.)
So I was praying for
people I care about. I was praying for courage, praying for an
openness to the truth, denying permission for that spirit to be
present or to work among them.
And as I prayed for
them, I prayed in similar fashion for myself. That’s what I do.
I learned some time
ago that my knowledge and beliefs are not actually completely perfect
in every detail, so any time that I pray for someone to be open to
the truth or for courage to stand against lies, I include myself in
the prayers. I’m not above being wrong, after all.
My prayer time
started off a little awkwardly; that’s not uncommon for me, as I
look for “the vein” of Father’s heart in the prayers. After a
little bit, I felt like I found it. I saw how it was working and how
to respond effectively to the thing, and I was really enjoying
praying for folks I care rather a lot about.
Then he took a
sudden left turn. “You need to repent, Son.”
Wait, what? What
for? I’ve been careful to include myself when I’m praying for
folks on this issue! What do I need to repent for?
And with one glance
of his eye, he showed me how I needed to let go of the judgment I had
in my heart, both for people who held opinions that were part of
fear’s agenda, and for people who were unwilling to really look at
both sides of an issue, who never really listened to other people’s
heartfelt concerns if they didn’t agree with their own position.
Whoa. What do you
know. You’re right, of course. I repented, carefully, with detail.
Then he opened it up
a little more. I’d struggled with the same issues of judgment in
several other issues. In all fairness, they’re pretty divisive
issues, but let’s be honest: we’re quick to divide over an awful
lot of issues.
I’ve been walking
with Jesus for a lot of decades, but he’s still taking me to school
pretty regularly. I sure appreciate his tender mercy.
