Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Ephesians 4:26-27
Father God, as I look at all that I must confront over the course of this day and week, I confess that I may have difficulty keeping myself under control. I walk amongst broken people, and combined with my own brokenness, it is a recipe for disaster! It will take everything in me to control my tongue, let alone my emotions. Because of this I know that I will become angry, either today or sometime this week. It is inevitable. The question isn’t whether I will get angry. The question is how will I deal with it.
I pray today for Your Holy Spirit to intervene in my heart today and everyday. As I engage in conflict with my fellow travelers, I pray that You would give me a heart of compassion, seeing them even as Christ sees each of us and has compassion on us. I pray that love would overcome in the moment, that I would lay hold of the opportunity to win a brother or sister over with love rather than push them away with wrath. I pray that You would give me what I stand in the need of to deal with my anger, preventing me from lashing out in sin, and compelling me to grasp the opportunity to be transparent and authentic, vulnerable and humble. Help me to deal with my emotions in the moment and not let anger linger on within me, rotting my soul against the person and granting the enemy a foothold in my heart.
LORD, I can only deal with my anger if I am filled with Your Spirit. Grant me a fresh anointing today, filling me through and through. Continue to remind me that I am Yours and there is nothing I can do about it. And as Your representative here on earth, it is my duty to love up on everyone, especially those who I believe have crossed a line and harmed me. Forgiveness must be theirs even as it is mine in Christ. Because I have been given it, I must give it back. I commit to doing so. Let this resonate throughout the day in my soul in Jesus’ Name. Amen.