Proverbs 20:22

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

When we’ve been wronged, our natural tendency is to “wrong back”, i.e., to hurt the one who has hurt us. But when our hurt turns into anger, anger can easily morph into bitterness. When this happens, we easily enter into dangerous territory. When we are angry, we are more prone to be driven by our emotions and do things that Proverbs describes as the actions of a “hot tempered man”. You’ll find that these type actions don’t lead to good. Especially when the anger turns into bitterness…it eats away in us like a cancer.

So we have to bring God into the situation. This is where “praying without ceasing” applies. It brings God into the situation and changes our mindset.

If you find yourself sliding from anger to bitterness, here is my prayer for you:

1 Thessalonians 5:14 – 24

¹⁴ We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the ^[j]unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people. ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit, ²⁰ do not utterly reject ^[k]prophecies, ²¹ but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, ²² abstain from every ^[l]form of evil.

²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it.