I am certain that I have listened to this session before. It was most likely a live session. I have gone through my past work and I couldn’t find it. Still, it felt like a fresh experience with Bill Johnson. We have some classes that are repeated for emphasis or at least, something similar is repeated. I am grateful for that because repetition is a special tool for learning.

In this class, Papa Bill talks about the importance of cultivating a grateful heart in all situations and some of the benefits of doing so. However, my core focus for this update will be on forgiveness and living in peace with all men. If you are wondering how these are connected, it is because a thankful heart makes it easier to forgive those who hurt you and pray for those who persecute you.

Our anchor passage from the Bible was 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

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. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

Do you notice how the last sentence talks about people getting saved, when the opening line of the passage encourages us to pray for all people, giving thanks for them? How interesting is it that the end result of our prayers with thanksgiving for all men ends in their salvation?

Here are a few notes I made on having a heart that prays and gives God thanks for others, regardless of who they are or what they may have done to you.

When you don’t forgive people or pray ill towards them, you misuse your authority as a son of God. Your authority is to be used for the display of mercy. If your prayers are attacking someone, God will shield that person from your carnality. But if you pray for mercy for the person, God steps in to chastise them because He knows that you are there to administer mercy and aid in their healing process, even if just in prayer.

Praying for those who hurt you is one of the fruits of forgiveness. Your forgiveness of people must go beyond emotions to actions. Make a move that shows what your heart has done in the place of prayer. The invisible reality of your forgiveness has to be able to be manifested in the natural. Without evidence of your forgiveness, the enemy has legal grounds to accuse you of remaining in unforgiveness. (Picture this: you are told to do something kind for someone who hurt you and you find it difficult to agree to it. Is there still something there that hurts too bad?)

The only part that hurts is the part that should be dead.

Humans judge quickly and very often, wrongly. We make conclusions about people’s motives but this is entering into forbidden territory. We have not been given legal access into anyone’s hearts unless the Lord chooses to reveal it to us. 1 Corinthians 2:11

Thankfulness pulls the toxins out of any difficult situation. If you are feeling hurt by someone, find something to thank God for about the person’s life and role in your life. I can attest that this works wonders. It changes your perspective. Difficulty gives you occasion for promotion. If you don't know that, you see it as an obstacle instead of a launching pad. You see it as an obstacle instead of an open door for growth and development.
All things work together for good. Imagine Salt or yeast. You may not be able to eat them alone. But when mixed into the full recipe, it produces something delicious. The bad things you go through are like salt. You may not like it alone but in the big picture, it’s working with other things to make a wonderful life. If it isn’t good, it hasn’t gotten to the end. You are called according to God’s purpose. His purpose is sure and true.

Thankfulness makes you un-offendable because you are constantly in that awareness of knowing that you serve the living God who uses anything that gets thrown at you for your advancement and ultimately, the advancement of the Kingdom.

However, I say to you, love your enemy, bless the one who curses you, do something wonderful for the one who hates you, and respond to the very ones who persecute you by praying for them. For that will reveal your identity as children of your heavenly Father. He is kind to all by bringing the sunrise to warm and rainfall to refresh whether a person does what is good or evil. Matthew 5:44-45.

Let’s close with the example of Jesus, I have handed down to you what came to me by direct revelation from the Lord himself. The same night in which he was handed over (betrayed), he took bread and gave thanks. 1 Corinthians 11:23

Finally, a prayer. The thing that the enemy planned to use against you will be that thing that will be used to promote you. To set yourself up for this, enter into thankfulness. Cultivate a heart that understands and trusts in the goodness of your Father.

Love and love,

OTDamilola

For King and Kingdom

Thank you for reading My Blue Journal. Feel free to share this with a friend who may be struggling with unforgiveness.

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My Blue Journal

OTD’s BSSM Weekly: Thankfulness and the heart