Praying Through Offense EP 136

iRefresh Team
Sep 27
2 min read

Updated: Oct 26

Carrie Kittinger, Veronica Scott and Sheryl Kloehr discuss the biblical concept of praying through offense," highlighting Jesus' intercession for Peter, who would deny Him, illustrating how believers can pray when hurt. Learn how to live "unoffendable," with humility and forgiveness, and trust God's will over your desires when praying for others. There's power in using scripture to guide and strengthen one's prayer life.

Podcast

Show Notes

The Power of Intercessory Prayer

Jesus Still Intercedes: Even today, Jesus is interceding for believers, which is a great source of comfort and assurance [00:33].
Planting Seeds: Praying for others, and letting them know you are praying for them, plants powerful seeds in their lives, which may not bear fruit for years [01:45].
Obedience to Prompting: When a person comes to mind, it is often a prompting from the Holy Spirit to pray for them immediately, even as you go about your day [03:37].
The Praying Grandmas: An example of consistent, powerful group prayer [05:07].

Jesus: The Example of Being Unoffendable

Praying for Your Betrayer: Jesus prayed for Simon Peter, even though He knew Peter was going to deny Him. The prayer was for Peter's faith not to fail and for him to strengthen his brothers when he turned back (Luke 22:32) [05:54].
Unoffendable Heart: Jesus modeled being "unoffendable" by washing the feet of all His disciples, including Judas (who would betray him) and Peter (who would deny him).
A Daily Prayer: example, "Lord, help me to be unoffendable," as the Bible warns against being quick to pick up offense [08:03].
The "Bait of Satan": Offense is described as the "bait of Satan," a temptation that hooks people because we do not like to be wronged [10:21].

Forgiveness and Praying God's Will

Kindness Leads to Repentance: Pointing out someone's wrong doesn't lead to their repentance; rather, the kindness of the Lord is what draws people to change [13:10].
Freedom in Forgiveness: When we confess our sins, God remembers them no more, which means He doesn't hold them against us. Likewise, we should not hold others in a place of past offense or mistakes when they have repented [15:23].
God Sees Potential: God uses the "unthinkable" and sees the potential in everyone, like Peter, who was called a "rock" upon which the church would be built after denying Christ [16:55].
Praying in the Spirit: You don't need to know all the details of someone's story to pray for them; praying in the spirit can align your prayer with God's will and purpose for their life [19:47].
Source of God's Will: The most important way to know and pray God's will (instead of your own biased desires) is by being in His word daily [22:17].