What?! other than pray and read your Bible

[KirkPsalm]

This morning my walking buddy and I asked ourselves the question, "what do you tell someone other than pray, and read you Bible?"
My friend, who is in the ministry had been at a funeral yesterday. The deceased was not someone he was close to nor was he there in an official capacity. He left and went home. I chided him a little because he had not sent me a text to account for his exercise later on yesterday because of the funeral. That is when he explained that he had had a bad day because the man who had passed away way so young (42) and that he had indulged in fritos and ice cream. He went on to tell me that he was angry with himself because he know better than to respond to despair or the troubles life dishes out to you in some like fashion. That's when we began our discussion on how does one avoid this behavior when life's trials large or small are dealt out. What are ways to dig out of the hole/despair other than the Sunday school answer of "pray and read your Bible".
I personally came up with, minister to someone else but I've head that before too. Anybody out there who can help me out here? TIA

 

[Of the Kingdom]

The answers you gave are good ones, and should be given because they are important but easy to forget in the heat of the moment. The problem you're seeing is that they are generic, cliche answers -- often given without any thought to what the other person is experiencing right now.

The best way to give more personalized answers is to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. When you have a regular relationship with someone, lift them up in prayer once in a while, and ask for wisdom in meeting their needs. Pointing them to a specific Bible verse or song could be much more helpful than a generic statement, but you need to be miraculously informed what specific message they need. A quick prayer before answering their question may be enough to guide you.

I often like to send links to gospel song videos, but I try never to do it at random. When I feel led to share a particular song, it is likely to do even more for the recipient than it did for me.

May God bless you as you seek to fellowship with members and seekers of the Kingdom.

 

[tturt]

"...the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" Isa 613

"...in thy presence is fulness of joy..." Psa 16

praise then worship. Can be anytime we are able to focus on God - there will be joy.

 

[Jesus is my Superhero]

It really helps if you know a beautiful spot in nature to hike or walk to and then be consoled by God.

 

[KirkPsalm]

"...the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" Isa 613

"...in thy presence is fulness of joy..." Psa 16

praise then worship. Can be anytime we are able to focus on God - there will be joy.

Thanks for that. How would to define or make distinct from each other, praise and worship? What is the difference between the two?

 

[tturt]

Can check out the thread "What's the difference between worship and praise" in the Spirit Filled forum.

Knew there were differences.. Spent several days reading and posted some of the responses from a wide range of authors. Some of them might be meaningful to you.

 

[biblelesson]

I see this is an older thread but the subject is interesting. We are all of one body, The Church, and when one Christian suffers we all suffer. I notice that when I say “we” or “us” in my prayers I suddenly feel not so heavy in heart during rough times.