Usually, we think of bullying as something that happens to and among children, but it prevails even into adulthood. Most likely those who bully have at least one parent who is a bully, but when it's a grown-up, we call it "aggressive" or "driven" or some other word that glosses over the fact that the person is mean or evil. Even as adults, we succumb to the pressures of such an overbearing person by suppressing our true feelings about the situation, being amendable, or just trying to avoid contact with the person.
While I'm not personally being bullied, I know of people who are, and I know of people who are/were bullies, and it really affects my heart to think about it. It hardens, even blackens my heart, and it's a struggle. I'm a very empathetic person and so there are times when it might as well be happening to me and I wish I had an answer, a solution to this horrible, horrible problem.
When looking for bible verses about this subject, what seems to be prominent are ones that talk about being courageous in/through our faith in Christ and there are many verses that talk about forgiving those who persecute us. That is really tough sometimes, especially for me. I can forgive easily if the person is apologetic, but if they keep doing the wrong, it gets harder for me. But then I remember where Peter asked Jesus how many times to forgive someone and Jesus' answer was to forgive them as many times as they commit the offense (mega-paraphrasing here).
So, these are the things I'm praying about; not only to protect and free the persecuted from being bullied, but also to soften the bullys' hearts, and anyone else's heart who is feeling the darkness overtake them right now.
{{{Really good, inspirational video}}}
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
1 John 2:9 ESV
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Please join me this week in praying for those who are bullied. Pray that they find the strength and encouragement to not succumb to the lies they're told. Pray they seek Jesus and find the hope they need to get through this difficult time. Pray that witnesses will step in and step up to help and defend the bullied. Let's also pray for peace, unity, justice and that hearts be softened.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power
#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #antibullying #stopbullying #bullying
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