Prayer in Time of Controversy

Prayer in Time of Controversy

Heavenly Father, In the midst of disagreement and conflict, grant me calmness, wisdom, and discernment. Help me to speak truth with love, listen with understanding, and act with patience and humility. Protect me from anger, pride, and rash judgment, and guide all involved toward reconciliation, justice, and peace. Amen.

When facing controversy, prayer can be a powerful tool for seeking guidance, unity, and resolution. Different types of prayers can be employed depending on the specific nature of the conflict, ranging from seeking divine intervention in unjust situations to fostering love and understanding amidst disagreements.

One approach to prayer in times of controversy focuses on humility and seeking God's mercy. This involves acknowledging personal fallibility and asking for forgiveness for any pride, fear, or lack of insight that might be influencing one's stance. It emphasizes a shared refuge in the gospel of Jesus Christ, magnifying Him as Savior and King, and fostering a spirit of thankfulness even in conflict. Such prayers also ask for deliverance from hostility and ill will, and for disagreements to become opportunities to demonstrate love to the world, as Francis Schaeffer advocated. The aim is to gain a clearer vision of God's glory, grace, truth, wisdom, power, and knowledge, leading to deeper humility, greater dependence on mercy, sweeter fellowship with Jesus, stronger love, and more radical obedience.

Another type of prayer, often referred to as a "backlash prayer," is used when one feels under spiritual attack or facing negative consequences from others' actions. This prayer invokes the name of Jesus and the power of His blood to break word curses, nullify the effects of evil, and proclaim blessings over all aspects of one's life, including health, home, finances, and ministry. It is seen as a spiritual shield, a way to command the penalty of the enemy to be broken, and to call forth strength, vigor, protection, and divine supply. This approach often involves putting on spiritual armor before interceding and praying the backlash prayer afterward, acting as "bookends" for spiritual warfare.

For situations involving injustice, a specific prayer for justice seeks divine intervention to reverse unfair circumstances. This prayer is rooted in the belief that righteousness and justice are the foundations of God's throne, and He desires to vindicate His people. It involves speaking God's promises back to Him, decreeing divine reversal, and commanding the light of the Holy Spirit to shine into the situation. Key elements include asking for comfort, binding away lies and plots of the enemy, loosing healing and truth, and calling forth promotion and blessing as a result of the struggle. The prayer also includes specific declarations for forgiveness, God's will, vengeance, mercy, new beginnings, love, restoration, peace, comfort, and honor. This type of prayer is often spoken aloud, as it is believed that speaking God's Word creates reality and enforces His perfect will. Many testimonies suggest that such prayers can lead to rapid and miraculous reversals of unjust situations.

These various prayer approaches highlight the multifaceted nature of addressing controversy through faith, emphasizing personal introspection, spiritual defense, and a firm belief in divine justice and intervention.

OTHER PRAYER: "Lord Jesus Christ, I am involved in a bitter controversy where it is very hard to tell who is right and who is wrong. I cannot understand why these things happen among people trying to live Christian lives, and I wish I were not involved. Let me realize that controversy is a part of life and that even your life was filled with it. Help me accept whatever comes with a spirit of resignation, and teach me to be better from this experience. Grant that I may resolve the controversy in a Christian manner and lead others to you because of it. Amen."