Let’s be honest—when someone wrongs us, our first instinct isn’t always to pray. More often than not, we want justice, or at the very least, an apology. But in a recent sermon, Pastor Jentezen Franklin made a bold statement: “God will take care of your enemies if you’ll take care of your spirit in prayer.”
That’s not exactly what most of us want to hear when we’ve been hurt. But Franklin made it clear—our job isn’t to settle the score; it’s to stay right before God. He pointed to David, who said, “I extended friendship… I did good… I was kind and good to them and they persecuted me without a cause.” Sound familiar? Maybe you’ve done everything right, and yet you still find yourself on the receiving end of betrayal, slander or cruelty.
Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!
You Can’t Pray and Plot Revenge
Franklin warned that we have a choice to make. “You can’t give yourself to logic and revenge and give yourself to prayer at the same time,” he said.
Trying to figure out why people act the way they do will only leave you frustrated. At some point, you have to let it go and give it to God. Otherwise, it can consume you.
Quoting Matthew 18, Franklin reminded us that holding onto unforgiveness has serious consequences: “If you don’t give it to God in prayer and you hold on to that, He will turn you over ‘to the tormentors.’” In other words, bitterness isn’t just a feeling—it’s a prison. It can affect you physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Becoming a Person of Prayer
So what’s the alternative? According to Franklin, it’s simple: “You don’t have to be bipolar, you can be prayer. You don’t have to be split personalities and full of anxiety and panic and fear—you can be prayer.”
He pointed to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. As Christ faced the weight of all sin, He didn’t lash out or seek an escape. Instead, “He took every addiction, every bitterness, every sin… and He said, ‘I am not addiction, I’m prayer.’”
That’s the challenge—to respond to hardship, pain, and even injustice with prayer, not retaliation.
The Three-Step Remedy
Franklin gave a practical, biblical formula for dealing with life’s struggles, straight from 1 Thessalonians 5:
- Rejoice always. “It’s a choice every day,” Franklin said. No matter what’s happening, choose to praise God, put on worship music, and spend time in His Word.
- Pray without ceasing. Life is full of problems, but instead of letting them define you, choose to say, “That’s not who I am—I’m prayer.”
- In everything, give thanks. This one is tough, but Franklin reminded us: “Not when things get better, not when they make it right—right now, this is the will of God for you.”
Choosing to Kneel Instead of Retaliate
The truth is, most of life is spent in the middle of struggle. Franklin quoted a study that found only about 3% of life is truly smooth sailing. The rest? It’s full of challenges. That’s why prayer is essential.
Rather than letting fear, bitterness, or offense settle in our hearts, we’re called to take it to our knees. “Fear doesn’t get in my heart. Worry doesn’t get in my heart. Torment doesn’t get in my heart,” Franklin said.
And that’s the real choice—will we let life’s battles turn us into bitter people? Or will we, like Jesus, become people of prayer?
Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
