A Prayer for Meekness
By Mark Altrogge
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
To be meek is to be gentle, humble, lowly.
“The meek are the ‘gentle’… those who do not assert themselves over others in order to further their own agendas in their own strength, but who will nonetheless inherit the earth because they trust in God to direct the outcome of events.” ESV Study Bible notes:
The first reason we should be meek is because Jesus is.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29
I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ 2 Corinthians 10:1
If God, the infinitely great and all-powerful one, is gentle and meek, how much more should we be!
Meekness shapes the way we relate to our Christian brothers and sisters
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3
We’re not to fight and scrape, intimidate or pressure our brothers and sisters to get our way. Rather we should relate to one another with complete – “ALL” – humility and gentleness.
Meekness changes our speech
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
The way to impart life is with a gentle tongue. Anger won’t produce God’s righteousness (James 1:20). Anger may intimidate others to do what we want, but it won’t change their hearts.
Meekness affects the way we correct opponents
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth 2 Timothy 2:24-25
We can’t persuade anyone by getting in their face. Yelling “murderer!” at a pro-choice person won’t win them to our side. Calling someone who differs with you an idiot won’t persuade them you are right. When we correct opponents, we must realize we can’t change them. Only God can grant repentance. So all we need do is gently submit our correction then trust God to change their heart.
Meekness affects the way we treat people ensnared in sin
We’re tempted to judge those trapped in sin. “How could you possibly do that? I would never do that!” But the Bible tells us we should restore sinners gently:
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Galatians 6:1
We are gentle when we help others who fall because we remember our own spiritual bankruptcy and sins. Each of us is capable of any sin. Remembering this will go along way to helping us restore others gently.
The world says the assert yourself. Put yourself forward. Grab. Fight. The Bible says be meek and you will inherit the earth. When we inherit something we don’t work for it but receive it as a gift. God gives the meek everything they need. Those who are meek find deep contentment and joy.
And someday we will inherit the new earth.
Father, we pray today that you would draw us into meekness. We pray that you would soften our hearts, that you would remind us of the gift of gentleness, that you would show us through Jesus how to live in love day by day. We pray that you would forgive us of our sins and open our eyes and hearts to forgiveness for others in our lives. We ask that you would help us to guard our speech, that the words we say would be life-giving and glorifying to you. We are so grateful for your refining fire in our lives. In your holy name, Amen.
Editor’s note: This article can be read in full on BibleStudyTools.com here. Prayer added by Rachel Dawson, design editor for Crosswalk.com.
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