Thankful For Others
Are you grateful for all the people who cross your path?
Verse of the Day
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.”
Today’s Devotional
Paul is writing a letter to Timothy to give him some encouragement and instruction. Today’s verse comes from the first of Paul’s letters to Timothy, and it includes many directives. Part of Paul’s instruction to Timothy about being a leader in the faith includes this urgent message that he be a person of prayer for all people.
I don’t know about you, but I do not pray for all people. I know people who are diligent in praying for others. I finished a book this week about a woman who was a diligent intercessor in prayer for the people in her life. It was very humbling because this is an area in which I have significant growth opportunities.
For the purposes of being obedient to this verse in God’s Word, let’s look at what “all people” might mean. Who should we be praying for?
- National leaders – whether we agree with them or not
- State and local authorities – whether we agree with them or not
- Church leaders – at all churches, not just our own
- Law Enforcement – whose job is to keep us safe
- Our family – ALL of them, even the ones who irritate us, and the ones whose lives we don’t agree with
- Our church family – ALL of them. No, seriously. Even the ones who get on our nerves or are incredibly different from us
- Our friends – the ones we see often and those we rarely get to be with
- Our acquaintances – ALL of the people we know
- Those we randomly encounter – the people we cross paths with on a daily basis
Thinking over the above list, we are told to pray for, to intercede on behalf of, ask God’s help for, and GIVE THANKS for all of these people. That’s a lot of people to be praying for. And I’m sure my list above is far from complete. How in the world are we supposed to do this?
As in many situations, my first answer is, “I have no idea.” But if I combine a few other truths that I learn in Scripture, then maybe this task becomes more manageable. We are told to pray without ceasing, which to me means that my life (especially my thought life) is a never ending conversation with the Lord. So anytime someone comes into my sight or my mind, I should be giving thanks for that person and praying for God to be with and help that person.
When I walk into a room and the news is on, I should thank God for our political leaders and pray God’s protection over them and ask that God guide their decisions. Even if I don’t agree with anything being said on the news.
When I am speeding and a cop is pulling me over, I should thank God for this person who chose to be a civil servant to keep me safe. I should pray for God’s protection for their physical safety as they perform a dangerous job. (I should also treat this cop with respect and take responsibility for my own actions. If I was speeding, then I need to own the consequences of that with dignity. After all, I am representing Jesus.)
When dealing with anyone who crosses my path, whether physically, mentally, or virtually, I should be thanking God for each person and praying for them. By name.
OK…. This feels like graduate-level spiritual discipline stuff. So let’s make it simple. For today, let’s thank God for every single person we encounter: in our thoughts, in our physical presence, in our email, in our social media, in online meetings, in our text messages, in our phone calls, and anywhere else we encounter other humans. Would our world be different if we all did this?
One personal note that has helped me in praying for others: I keep several notecards in my Bible and my prayer journal. I keep lists of people who I’m praying for. This helps me because I am very forgetful. In addition to reminding me to pray, it also encourages me to follow up with these people. I have a friend who is so great at texting me each week to see what, specifically, she can be praying for for me. It’s amazing how loved that makes me feel. Am I willing to do that for others?
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 1: Imagine there a big arrow pointing up. Did you read the above paragraphs? Today’s gratitude challenge is to be thankful for the people in your life. Whether they directly affect you or not. Every human you see, talk to, think of, or encounter in any way was created by God in the image of God. We are told directly, in today’s verse, to be thankful for all people. Make a list in your journal. Keep adding to that list over the course of that day, even if it’s only in your mind after you have finished journaling today.
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 2: How and why are you grateful for your emotions? We tend to enjoy the emotions on the positive end of the spectrum, but not so with anything on the negative end. All emotions, however, serve a purpose. Have you ever thanked God for your emotions?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How would your day be different if you chose to be grateful “for all people”?
Why do you think Paul gave Timothy this advice?
How would your life be different if all people you encountered were grateful for you?
Are you willing to try to be grateful for every person who blips on your radar today?
Write out a gratitude list for all the people who come to your mind. Give thanks to God for each person, and pray for God to bless them today.
How and why are you grateful for your emotions?