Hollywood Prayer Network On The Pain Of GossipНамуна

HOW TO HANDLE GOSSIP AND SLANDER AGAINST YOU

"The best way to deal with slander is to pray about it: God will either remove it, or remove the sting from it. Our own attempts at clearing ourselves are usually failures; we are like the boy who wished to remove the blot from his copy, and by his bungling made it ten times worse." Charles Spurgeon

PRAY:  Lord, today is a day for me to pray for others who gossip. I can't change other people, but I can pray for Your Holy Spirit to come in and stop them from slandering, gossiping, and speaking maliciously against others. Lord, I pray for the people around me whom I know and love, for our political leaders, and for the leaders and decision-makers in Hollywood who don't know You and don't understand Your concepts. A lot of the people I know see nothing wrong with slander and gossip, and they speak maliciously against other people and against You without even blinking an eye. But as Jesus said on the cross, "Forgive them, for they don't know what they do!" Lord, I lift up our country's political and cultural "rulers" and ask that You forgive them and then transform them, revealing Your saving grace to them. As I meditate on Your decrees I ask the Holy Spirit to convict their hearts, and mine, so that any of them who speak maliciously may be ashamed of their slander and gossip, and repent, and let me not judge any of these people, but pray for them to find You. Then Your Holy Spirit will make all of us new creatures. 

REFLECT:  God has told us from the very beginning to pray for our leaders, whether we agree with them or not. We need to lift our leaders up to the Lord and ask Him to renew them, transform them, and guide them. You have surely thought to pray for your political leaders, but have you ever thought to pray for your cultural leaders? The leaders in Hollywood who are creating and distributing our world's media and entertainment need prayer. Many of them sit together and slander others; they gossip, lie, and harm others. Our job is to keep a clear conscience by not participating, or even by redirecting the conversation, so that those who speak maliciously against our or others' good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander and gossip. It's our job to pray for them to discover and embrace the healing and transforming love of Jesus so that He can change their hearts and their tongues.

ACT:  Think of two leaders in Hollywood whom you know don't know Jesus. They might have a bad reputation or are known for saying or doing bad things. They could be decision-makers or celebrities, but regardless, they are impacting our culture through their lives and projects, and even their actions. Instead of letting them lead you to gossip about them, stop right now and pray for them, and for the Holy Spirit to come in and change their hearts, minds, words, and actions. By doing this, you are keeping a clear conscience and helping these leaders move one step closer to a relationship with Jesus. That's a Win/Win!