A group of us were sitting at coffee hour after church when the names of folks who had been on the prayer list were mentioned; who was improving, who needed ongoing prayer, and so on. The discussion spread to our different practices of prayer and one person said she knew a woman who makes it a point to pray for people she is mad at on Wednesdays. She called them her Wednesday people. We chuckled and moved on, but I can’t stop thinking about that.
I imagine that most of us have someone who knows which of our buttons to push, and delights in doing so. Often, we are related to them. Or maybe you’re disgusted with a leader in your community or nation. The coach of your favorite team, the guy who always takes your parking spot at work; the list could be endless. In thinking about my own list, I discovered there aren’t nearly as many of those folks in my life as there used to be, which indicates some progress, I guess. But if you’re human, and honest, we all have some.
Ideally, I suppose we’d make it a point to pray for those folks every day but if that’s more than you can manage, at least for now, setting aside a particular time to gripe to your higher power and ask for the grace to wish everyone well could be a helpful discipline. Besides, it would give us a window on our own inner thoughts, and a prompt for self-examination. It’s pretty easy to fall into negativity and have it spread like virus until our minds are a jumble of judgement.
It doesn’t matter whether our Wednesday people are aware of their effect on us. Sometimes they may be, but frequently they are simply self-absorbed and not concerned much with other folks’ feelings. What really matters is how we perceive them, and what our responses are. A reaction is generally immediate, with no time to examine the situation and make a decision. A response takes time, thoughtful consideration, and should be based on our motives.
I’ve known of folks who simply couldn’t bring themselves to pray for their enemies, even though the Good Book commands us to do so. If that’s the case, here’s an easy out. Just ask that they would be given everything you desire for yourself. It doesn’t matter if you mean it. Just ask to be willing to mean it, and eventually that happens.
Well. Now that we have that settled, here’s another side of the coin. Are you on someone’s Wednesday person list?
Meet me here next week, and meanwhile do your best. Somebody might like it.