powerful things you can do for a guy. A man who is early in his spiritual journey may share something For a guy who’s a little further along in his spiritual journey, you may feel led to pray with him rather than just for him. Ask God to give comfort or direction or wisdom, or whatever is needed. That brings your friendship another step forward, and it actually brings both of you closer to Christ. 35 Wednesday—August 9•Reach Out Through Prayer Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. (Colossians 4:12) It might seem strange to pray for a friend, but it really isn’t. Actually, prayer is one of the most he’s dealing with. You could respond, “Would you mind if I pray about that?” He may look around and say, “Right here? Right now?” And you can say, “No, but I’m just letting you know I’ll pray for you about that.” Now, if you say that and just walk away, you’ve minimized the impact in that man’s life. I encourage you to follow up a few days later. “Hey, man, I’m wondering what happened with that situation you mentioned. I’ve been praying about it.” MIMBS 4 Who among your friends are you praying for? Who are you praying with? How are you following that up in conversation? Daily Reading: Ezra 8:21–9:15, 1 Corinthians 5:1–13, Psalm 31:1–8, Proverbs 21:1–2 Thursday—August 10•Reach Out Through Giving But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. (2 Corinthians 8:7) Sometimes you really catch a man’s attention when you offer a gift. Man in the Mirror offers books at our website at very low cost. They were designed to help men move forward in their spiritual journeys. If you have a friend who is still trying to figure out Christianity, consider giving him a copy of Is Christianity for You? If he’s struggling and trying to figure out why things aren’t working out, consider giving him a copy of Man Alive. If he’s been doing Christianity for a while, but it’s not really clicking, consider giving him a copy of The Man in the Mirror. How do you do it? Just say, “I was thinking about you this morning, and about some of the stuff we’ve talked about. I’d like to give you this book. All I ask is that you read the first chapter. Let’s get together and talk about it next week. If you like the book, you can keep reading it, and if you don’t, you can pass it on to someone else.” Then pray and see what God will do. MIMBS 4 Who among your acquaintances and friends could benefit from receiving a gift designed to help him move forward on his spiritual journey? Daily Reading: Ezra 10:1–44, 1 Corinthians 6:1–20, Psalm 31:9–18, Proverbs 21:3
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