A Prayer to Kill the Sin of Gossip in Your Life
By Michelle Lazurek

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

Can you pray for Jan? I heard she’s having some issues in her marriage. I think they are on the brink of divorce. In my sixteen years in ministry, I’ve had many women come to me and start off a conversation just like this one. Yet a conversation like this is nothing more than gossip, thinly veiled as a prayer request used as a way to share information about another member of church.

If I’m honest, it’s easier speaking about someone else’s life rather than my own. I even get a little joy out of hearing someone else’s problems. For a moment, it seems like my life is better than someone else’s. I can temporarily indulge in the spiritual high of knocking someone else off her pedestal in a pathetic attempt to keep me on my pedestal.

Perhaps, you, like me, have experienced the spiritual high of hearing about someone else’s problems. Have you thrived even a little bit on the idea that someone who on the exterior is thinner, prettier, or better than you is crumbling on the interior?

Our words have power. God used words when He spoke the world into being. Jesus used them to calm storms, heal the sick and rebuke the Pharisees. They can have a positive or negative effect on people, depending on which we choose to use.

Let’s pray together now for the power we need to kill the sin of gossip.

Lord, thank you for your mercy and grace, even when we sin and gossip. Help me see this sin for what it is—hateful, hurtful, and ultimately sin that separates me from you. Lord, give me a greater affection for you. Help me love you so much that it spills over into everyone I meet. Help me love you so much that the temptation to gossip melts away in the midst of my thankfulness and joy. Help me long to build others up, not tear them down. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

A Prayer for the Long Walk of Faith
By Karen Ehman

“Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Genesis 5:24 (NIV)

Is there a person in the Bible whose story you simply love? One who encourages you, challenges you or with whom you share a similar life circumstance?

Perhaps it’s Moses and his keen leadership skills? Or, Esther — the compelling queen, both beautiful and brainy — who used her quick thinking to help save an entire nation? Maybe Joseph is your favorite, as you contemplate how someone so mistreated could continually take the high road which led him not only to political power but also to family forgiveness?

All of these are fabulous choices, but I choose Enoch.

I first heard of Enoch as a teen, and he fascinated me. Not a lot is written about him in the pages of Scripture, but what is there piqued my interest: “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24). Hmmm. My young mind pondered that strange description.

As I grew in my faith, I learned more about this Old Testament mystery man. In Hebrews 11:5-6 we catch more of the story. “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: ‘He could not be found, because God had taken him away.’ For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (NIV).

That’s it! Enoch was whisked away, spared the pain of death and transported immediately to God’s side, all because of one simple thing: He pleased God.

I say simple, but I don’t say easy.

It is a simple thing to please God. You just do what He says in His Word. Straightforward enough, right?

However, my years as a follower of Christ have taught me that simple is not always easy. Choices present themselves, the world screams, our flesh gets in the way and we want revenge or glory … so we often lack faith, and instead try to control our own destinies. We mess up the pleasing God part with our very own hands and hearts.

Enoch walked with God.

Oh, don’t we long for that to be said of us? I’ll admit I don’t always walk with God. I take a stand for God — believe the right things and make it known. I may walk after God. And sadly, sometimes I run ahead of God, make my own plans and then say, “Oh yeah. By the way God, do ya mind blessin’ these plans? I made them in Your name. I may have forgotten to consult You in the midst of them, but they are for You, alright?” What a shame and a sham!

Walking with God means we daily give up our desire to navigate our own lives, and we place our faith in Him. We admit He knows what’s best for us and realize He might not always reveal the hows and whys until the very last second. God is seldom early, but never late. Only day-by-day faith-walking pleases God.

Do you long to be one who pleases God this way? One who makes Him smile as He sees you place complete trust in Him and His infinite wisdom daily? Maybe then we just might be like my Bible hero Enoch … the one who walked so closely by our Creator’s side that one day, during one of those long walks, God looked at him and said, “You know, we’ve been walking together for so long now that we are actually closer to My house than yours. Why don’t you just come on home with Me right now?”

Glory! Well, at least that’s how I picture it.

Dear Lord, show me how to walk step by step with You in faith — not ahead of You or behind You, but right by Your side. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.