Attitude Makeover
Happiness is based on having a positive attitude. Sometimes our hidden attitude problems cause us to be unhappy, especially in our relationships with God and others and in our feelings of self worth. Here is a prayer for you that uses Bible verses to help you change your attitude so you can receive God’s help when your attitudes cause you to behave and react in unhealthy ways.
How to do this prayer practice:
Many of us have trouble PRAYING when things seem to be “pushing our emotional buttons.” Some circumstance pops up to make us feel hurt, or angry, or vengeful, or proud, or harsh, or sad, or unloving; and the last thing we want to do is divulge these ungodly feelings to God.
1. Ask God to help you use your “ouch moments” to turn to Him.
I call these uncomfortable feelings OUCH! moments, and they’re actually invitations to turn in PRAYER to a God who loves us UNCONDITIONALLY.
God already knows our hearts, and wants us to get our feelings out in the open before Him. “Come now, and let us reason together” says the LORD… Isaiah 1:18
I recently experienced an OUCH! moment when I told my husband he looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy in the white tee shirt he was wearing. He said, “Do you think I look fat?” When I saw his face, I knew I’d spoken hurtful words. Afterward, I felt UNCOMFORTABLE, but what was I to do? I decided bring these feelings to God in PRAYER.
2. Appropriate God’s word and presence immediately.
I’ve found the key to overcoming hurtful attitudes and actions which cause OUCH! moments is appropriating God’s word and His presence. Here is how I do that:
I chose five verses from the Bible that serve as reminders of GOD’S PERSPECTIVE on my OUCH! moment.
I write the verses on a card and carry it with me.
When I have a free moment, I pull out the card and meditate on one of the verses. Meditating brings me into God’s presence, and slowly but surely, I’m changed.
I call these verses my FIVE SMOOTH STONES, and I keep them handy like David did to defeat the enemy. David was a young shepherd when Israel was on the verge of being conquered by a foreign army because no one dared to fight the giant Goliath. No one thought a young man like David could do it, especially when David set aside the sword and armor that were too big and heavy for him to use. Instead the Bible says, “Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his sheperd’s bag and, with his sling (or slingshot) in his hand, approached the Philistine.” ( I Samuel 17:40, NIV version)
Here are five I chose for my errant mouth. As I PERSONALIZE the verses and ask God to speak to me in them, He is faithful to change my heart.
1. Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3
2. … (her) mouth speaks out of that which fills her heart . Luke 6:45
3. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD Psalm 19:14
4. (My) tongue has the power of life and death Proverbs 18:21a
5. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry James 1:16
3. Grow spiritually.
SO – Experiencing an OUCH! moment is not a BAD thing. It’s an invitation to turn to God. Every time I turn to my Father, I grow spiritually. That’s a GOOD thing.
What is an OUCH! moment you’ve experienced that was an invitation to turn to God in prayer? Can you share scripture that helped you? God loves it when we share His word and encourage others to grow spiritually through PRAYER.
Copyright Charlene Stamper 2012 All rights reserved.
