I prayed for her. In her mind were heaped up experiences of having been hurt and wounded even for faults she had not committed.

When I asked her if she ever prayed for those who hurt her, she replied that she prayed for their conversion. It was a prayer that condemned others, specially those who hurt her, and considered them as undesirable people. When I prayed for the wounded mind and the body shattered by sickness, surrendering them to the Lord, the insight that Jesus gave me was: "Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary , repay with a blessing, it is for this that you were called- that you might inherit a blessing" (1 Pet 3:9). What the Lord desires is the prayer of blessing.

There came a change in this sick lady’s manner of praying. When she discerned the will of God and changed her prayer into one that blessed others, there occurred a transformation in her life. When she highlighted the faults of those who made her suffer, the memories that pained her were eating her up. However, when she overlooked them and blessed those people, her pain and grief were washed away. There was also a miraculous change in her sickly condition. Within one month she was healed of her cancer. All for whom this person prayed, were also blessed.

All of us human beings receive hurts daily from those with whom we live. Knowingly or unknowingly we hurt several people; others hurt us. The fact of being hurt and wounded by others, naturally incline us to be resentful and to foster bitterness towards them. Though we do not take revenge on those who hurt us, without our being conscious of it, we desire their failure and destruction in our unconscious mind. At times we also experience a slight joy when they come across failure. This shows that the revengeful attitude of our mind still persists.

The word of God reminds us, "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Lk 6:27). The word of God makes us understand that, if at any time we curse another, there is resentment and anger against him or her in our minds. The word of God reminds us, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them"(Rom 12:14). This teaches us that we should only bless and never curse another. When bitterness persists in our mind, the word of God teaches us that we are giving a chance to Satan to attack us. "And do not make room for the devil" (Eph 4:27). When David returned from Philistia after slaying Goliath, in the company of King Saul, women from all the towns of Israel welcomed Saul and David with singing and dancing to the accompaniment of tambourines. Besides themselves with joy, they sang, "Saul has killed thousands, and David his ten thousands." Saul was offended. In anger he exclaimed, "They gave David ten thousands while to me they ascribed thousands. What more does he need except kingship?" From that day onwards Saul viewed David with suspicion. The next day an evil spirit sent by God entered Saul. Saul began raving within his house (cf 1 Sam 18:6-10). The word of God testifies that through jealousy, resentment, and enmity Satan enters a person.

Another medium Satan discovers to enter a person is the grief and the memories of misfortunes that arise within us again and again. The book of Lamentation says, "The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall!" (Lam 3:19), When poison enters our body, it adversely affects the working of our body.

Sirach 30:23 teaches us, "Indulge yourself and take comfort, and remove sorrow far from you, for sorrow has destroyed many, and no advantage ever comes from it." It is the power of darkness that cause cause us grief. God does not give us grief. He does not desire our failure. "I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath" (Hos 11:9). God always desires our welfare and prosperity. The powers of evil cause us grief and tribulation. Grief, fear, despair and the inclination to commit suicide are the instruments of the evil one. Through these Satan wishes to enter us. Whenever deep grief remains in us, whenever the memory of past failure subsists, Satan tries to enter us. Painful memories, tempt us to blame and hate the circumstances and the people who caused us pain. Through grief, animosity enters us and through animosity Satan enters us. That is why the word of God says, "Indulge yourself and take comfort, and remove sorrow far from you, for sorrow has destroyed many, and no advantage ever comes from it" (Sir 30:23). The memory of adversities and anxieties is a bitter poison. The Bible, therefore, teaches us that we must be freed from the memory of painful memories.

The means God has prepared for us to be delivered from painful memories is to give thanks to God for all the failures and adversities of life. The book of Job teaches us that the way to survive the temptations of Satan is praise of God. Satan gave Job failures and misfortunes in order to distance him from his faith in God. Job, however, did not lose his faith in God; on the contrary, he did not desist from praising God,

"...After my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!" (Job 19:26-27). It was through constant praise of God that Job overcame Satan. It is Satan who revives the memory of our sufferings and anxieties and instils resentment and enmity in us. The way to be freed from this trap of Satan is to praise God in failure and adversity and thus counteract the diabolical influence.

The apostle teaches us in 1 Pet 3:9. "Do not pay back evil with evil or give insult for insult rather, rather give a blessing. It is for this that you have been called." The Lord wishes that everyone should be blessed. The word of God teaches us that our prayer for those who have insulted us or given us suffering, should be a blessing, and it will turn out to be a blessing for us as well. We are blessed in proportion to the blessings we wish for others. We are cursed with the curses we call upon others, "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get" (Mt 7:1-2). The prayer that blesses those who have done us evil and persecuted us, destroys the diabolical influence that exists in us. Secondly, it frees us from the memories of our grief. Thirdly, it paves the way for blessings to be poured out on us. On the contrary, if we curse and blame others, the evil spirit gains strength within us and revengeful thoughts increase in us and we stray from the grace of God (cf Heb 12:15). "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thes 5:18). We should return thanks to God for the good, the evil, the grief, the misfortune and the rejection we have received. "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him"(Col 3:17). When we thank God and surrender all the painful circumstances and the persons responsible for them to God and pray that he may bless them, we become blessed ourselves, become enriched in God’s mercy and enter a life of holiness. Job thanked God for all his tribulations, blessed those who harmed him. At the end of his period of trial God doubled his prosperity, "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before"(Job 42:10). God made the remainder of his life more glorious than the former. "The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys"(42:12). In order to become enriched in God’s mercy, we should thank God in every circumstance. Bless all. Intercede for all to be blessed.

Never desire evil for anyone. Let us cherish the word of God that says only bless, never curse.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, I praise and thank you for all the trials and tragedies of my life.
I surrender to you the circumstances and persons who caused me grief and pain.
Remove from my mind all the resentment,
and bitterness towards them.
Teach me to love them.
I surrender them to you and thank you for them.
Jesus, bless them and all their undertakings.
Fill them with all spiritual and temporal blessings.
I Praise you Jesus.
I thank you Jesus!
I adore you Jesus!