Power of a Praying Woman 10/17/06 9:02 AM Page 238
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The Power of a Praying Woman
holes out of the front of it so that when they put the shirts on, their breasts stuck through the holes. I laughed when I heard that story and wondered how many times God gives us something to cover us or to make us right with Him, and we cut out the part that we don’t want so that our ?esh can still stick through. No wonder we aren’t able change ourselves. We don’t even understand what we’re supposed to be changed to or why. Only God can open our eyes to see these things. That’s why we have to pray the “Change me, Lord” prayer. I know it’s one of the most frightening and dif?cult prayers to pray. We’d so much rather pray, “Change him, Lord” or “Change her, Lord.” Plus if we give the Lord carte blanche to do whatever He wants in us, God only knows what He might do. But there is a way we can pray that will change us, and it’s not frightening. That is to pray, “Make me more like Christ.” Who doesn’t want to exhibit the character of Jesus? Who doesn’t want to be more like Him in every way?
Seven Good Ways to Be More Like Christ
1. Jesus was loving. Not only was Jesus loving, but His love was beyond comprehension. We will never have to bear the sin of the world unto death the way He did, but He wants us to lay down our lives for people in other ways. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). His love can work miracles in your life and in the lives of people you touch. The love of God in you will grow and reproduce as you share it. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Pray for God’s love to be revealed in you as you reach out to the world around you.