A bad day with cows can be turned around by the encouragement of prayer

A bad day with cows can be turned around by the encouragement of prayer

A bad day with cattle can be turned around by an encouraging prayer

By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross

Two of three heifers delivered dead calves, the transmission just went out on the truck and it’s only two years old and now the weather has turned worse and three days of rain is turning into six with pastures looking like swamps. You haven’t prayed in weeks, it’s just been so busy and now, when you go to talk to God, you just feel angry and decide not to pray at all.

That’s when a friend sends you a text that says, “Hey man, I just want you to know my wife and I prayed for you this morning.”

They may or may not have known everything that was going on or what you needed but at a minimum, it feels pretty good knowing others are even thinking about you and, even better, you feel like you have something you can thank God about and it opens the door to pray again.

The encouragement

Part of Matthew 6:6 says, But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.

We’re cautioned not to be like the Pharisees whose actions were often about calling attention to themselves as the religious elite that tried to control much of the behavior of the people of that time when it came to their relationship with God.

But we’re also called to encourage one another.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

The church was doing a good job of this but in his letter to them, Paul was encouraging them to keep it up.

Sometimes we don’t know how to help someone but praying for them can be the encouragement that gets a person through a day. Sometimes, it can be a moment where someone who isn’t a believer sees Christians in a positive light instead of the negative perceptions they had. Even asking someone how you can pray for them can be a non-intrusive way to open the door to talking about your faith. But I know at least one instance where telling someone they had been prayed for was the between life and death. It was answered prayer for them when they were asking God to show them that someone cared.

We have to trust the Holy Spirit to lead us to when it’s good to share that we’ve prayed or when we need to keep it behind a closed door. When we know it will encourage someone and it isn’t about seeking attention or appreciation, that’s usually a good time to tell the person it was done.

We might think we know best but are we listening?

We might think we know best but are we listening?

Jim Bull is a horseman from Kentucky who writes, The Bull Pen for the Cowboys of the Cross website, devotions meant to teach and encourage through illustrations from life.

Jim Bull is a horseman from Kentucky who writes, The Bull Pen for the Cowboys of the Cross website, devotions meant to teach and encourage through illustrations from life.

By Jim Bull / Cowboys of the Cross

As a teenager, I thought I knew what was best for me, at least what little I knew about what I wanted.

Admittedly, I really had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I was content to wander aimlessly through it without much consideration to my future. When my mom would ask me about my plans I would give a lame thought or brush it off completely. When she would try to help me think about a job that would lead to a career or at least something that would make me happy and I would be good at, I knew she had my best interest in mind. But I wasn’t ready to listen. I would feign interest just to please her then go about my haphazard way of life.

This shows there is a difference between believing someone knows what’s best for you and listening to them. The same way there is a difference between believing in God and bowing down before Him.

Satan himself believes in God. James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Satan has talked to God and been in His presence. The belief Satan has is based on knowledge and does not include trusting, following or having a union with Christ. Satan’s belief does not lead to a changed life. That belief, or knowledge does not lead to salvation!

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

However, your wholehearted, biblical belief in God through Christ will show itself in a spiritual and moral transformation. You shouldn’t need to tell someone you believe in God, they should be able to see it.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

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