Jesus, help me grow in my skills and abilities to see what is fair and what is unfair; help me do this so I will be able to help others get along. When people feel they are right, let me help them become poor enough in their spirit to allow You and I to teach them fair treatment. Let their desire to solve their disagreements open their heart to Your teaching.

Jesus, since peacemaking requires that I point out people’s mistakes but not their fault, help me guide them into giving up faults, responsibilities, and blame. Let me help them see that it doesn’t matter who caused the problem. Help me teach them that in every situation, there are faults, failures, misunderstandings, and wrongs. Teach me that in self-esteem and self-confidence, the person thinks they are only as good as their behavior. When I start trying to bring peace to a situation, help me understand that both parties are trying to protect their esteem and confidence. They are both trying to shift the blame and responsibility on the other person or group. Help me lead them away from that.

Jesus, help me lead them into God-esteem and God-confidence. Let me teach them that THEY are wonderful people but THEIR deed was something that needs to be worked on. If they ACCIDENTLY hurt someone, let me lead them into feeling bad about it without feeling guilty. Help me show them that it wasn’t a FAULT on anyone’s part; no one did it on purpose; it was an accident. Help me lead them into asking God to forgive them of ALL their sins, failures, misdeeds, faults, and bad behavior. Then help me show them that He gives them a perfect record with Him. He makes them a perfect person without sins, failures, misdeeds, faults, and bad behavior.

Jesus, help me lead them into mourning so it can help them repent when they feel really bad about how much they hurt someone else. But, let me teach them that God has removed all, fault, guilt, responsibility, and punishment. Once I show them how to mourn, repent, ask You for Your forgiveness, accept You perfect record, and allow themselves of believe they are free of ALL sins, failures, misdeeds, faults, and bad behavior, let them relax and believe. Even if it was their responsibility, fault, or failure prior to turning it all over to You, help me show them that NOW it doesn’t have anything to do with any of those things.

Jesus, even though people who are fighting don’t want to feel bad about what they did to each other, let me help them learn how to “mourn” by starting to see they have done something that hurt the other person. Since usually there have been two wrongs, when two people start arguing and fighting, let me show both of them how to “mourn” by feeling bad about THEIR part of the misunderstanding. Even if I can’t get them to accept a relationship with You and become meek at this point, let me help them with the beginning stages of meekness.

Jesus, help me use this Bible passage to present the reason for those having conflicts to become meek: Isaah 55:8-9 (NIV) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Jesus, help me teach them that meekness is making God the final authority in their life rather than them believing in themselves. Help me understand that self-esteem and confidence require that they believe in their value and their abilities. They believe they are valuable and capable because they think so (self-esteem), or, because someone told them so (people-esteem), or, because of some accomplishment (performance-esteem).

Jesus, let me lead them into God-esteem which comes from them believing in God’s acceptance of them. John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world THAT He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Help me use this verse to explain that they can get God-esteem and confidence, if they believe in You. Help me teach them that they get A LOT more than that; but, let me show them that it is one of the blessings from being born again.

Jesus, help me provide them with the greatest peacemaker accomplishment I can involve myself in: Rom 4:25 (NIV) He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Rom 5:1 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me help people be born again so they can have peace in their life with God. Let You and I accomplish this so meekness will be able to flow into their life.

Jesus, help me understand that the people I deal with who are needing peacemaking help are already full. They can’t get hungry or thirsty because they have already filled themselves with world training. But, let them get into a bad enough argument, conflict situation, or distructive relationship so they will be ready to let some of their world “food” go. Let it be my goal to help them see that Your ways are the best ways for living life. Empower me to help them hunger and thirst for righteousness. Let me help them SEE that their procedures aren’t working. Help them SEE that there IS a better way.

Mat 7:12 (NIV) So in EVERYTHING, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Jesus, as I am finding out what the people I am working with want done for them, let me help them see the brilliance of Your system. Teach me that I am not just trying to bring peace to people, I am trying to bring peace with God. Let me teach them that the definition of righteousness is, them only doing good things to themselves, other people, and God’s plan. Help me see that if those involved in this peacemaking process ONLY want GOOD to come out of this negotiation, then righteousness is their goal. Help me show them that it isn’t until THIS is their goal that peace can be accomplished.

Mat 6:14-15 (NIV) For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Jesus, help me explain to them that God expects them to treat others the way He treated them. Whatever gift, blessing, breakthrough, or things they do not deserve, He wants them to be that kind of person with others. Eph 2:4-5 (NIV) But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.

Jer 17:9 (NIV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jesus, let me be able to show people that their heart is VERY skilled at fooling them into believing they have pure motives. They can even go into pride because they feel so pure in their reasons for doing what they are doing. But, when the Holy Spirit reveals what their real motive is, it can be a shock to them. Help me teach them that the process of going from a deceitful heart to a pure heart takes a supernatural work of God. At that point, they will no longer be fooled by their heart’s motives. Their heart will be honest with them, those around them, and with God. Help me show them that peacemaking has to be done with pure motives.

Jesus, let me show them that it isn’t just a problem with their heart being deceitful, those they are trying to bring peace to also have deceitful hearts. For me to get at the truth so You and I can bring them peace, I will have to be guided to the right questions, probes, evaluations, and tests. Help me always remember that what I am hearing said, what I am being led to believe, and what I am being required to base my decisions on, aren’t the real facts of the matter. Help me bring people to a pure in heart condition so the real motives can be brought to the surface. Show me that when Solomon threatened to cut the baby in half, the fake mother was willing to do it, the real mother wasn’t (1 Kings 3:16-28). Help me get at the true facts.

Jesus, help me show people that all of God’s truths, concepts, and principles make complete sense. Help me explain them properly. Let me help people, who are arguing, to move into a peaceful relationship by USING the principle of Luke 6:31 (NIV) Do to others as you would have them do to you. If I am dealing with people who are VERY weak in their spiritual understanding and growth; show me how to help it all make sense to them. They may be far from being a Christian and wanting anything from You; BUT, help me always keep in mind that the only way for them to start heading in that direction is for me to show them how Christianity will improve their life.

Jesus, let me gradually lead people, who are in strife, into a relationship with You. Help me teach the Biblical principles that keep making their life and relationships better. Help me say things like: “How would you feel if someone treated you that way?” Help me use things like that to teach them the “do to others as you would have them do to you” principle. Use me to lead them into spiritual training by establishing peace with them. Open their eyes so they can see things from other people’s perspective. Join me in helping them start to respond to love.

Jesus, as I continue to study how to be set free from my difficulties with alcohol, show me that I am learning many Biblical principles. As I keep learning and applying these principles to my and other people’s lives, God will teach me how to reword, translate, and explain them to those who are untrained. Let me help them apply Biblical principles that show them how to get along with each other and me. Show me that the more their life keeps getting improved and their relationships get better, they will become interested in learning these special Biblical principles.

Jesus, teach me that I am not only learning how to be set free from the issues with alcohol, I am getting peacemaker training. Those principles that set me free from my struggles with alcohol are the same principles for all issues of life. Show me that as I help people have better and better relationships with each other, I can turn these studies into training materials that help them move into the great things of God.