Bless those...pray for those...

This is such a great reminder.  My Word of the Year is Prayer.  I have been exploring how prayer works, what we should pray for, and how we can communicate with God.  One area of prayer that we neglect is to pray for those that hurt us.  Maybe because it is totally unnatural to bless those who have wronged us. Maybe because we still hold a grudge.  Maybe because we are just fallen creatures.  Maybe because even though we have forgiven them we forget that praying for them is an option.  Whatever the reason doesn't matter.  We are suppose to actively bless those around us...the good, the bad, and the ugly...that is to say the ones that have been good to us, bad to us and even ugly to us.

I admit to holding grudges.  I admit feeling less than friendly to some.  But I also have to admit that blessing those that curse you, praying for those that mistreat you...really works.  I have done it with one individual in my life.  Not that it fixed the relationship or brought about reconciliation, but it did fix me.  It gave me the power to forgive and the ability to release negative feelings and let the whole thing go.  I think that I need to start again....actively blessing those that curse me or mistreat me. I think I need to have a chat with God...