Flattery

Flattery will get you no where. Now a Mercedes on the other hand…

I’ve been the recipient of someone trying to flatter me to get something from me. It was gross. Why did they think that would work better than sincerely asking me outright?

Two of my favorite passages are in 2 Chronicles 20 and Nehemiah 1, where Jehoshaphat and Nehemiah were up against something bigger than themselves. (And these are only two examples you’ll find in the Bible.) They start with telling God all about Himself, before making their request. In the mind of the person who flattered me, they would probably think this was a great way to couch their request. But they’d be wrong.

Flattery, in the biblical context, is often portrayed as insincere praise or excessive compliments given with the intention of manipulating or deceiving others. (biblehub.com)

What these two guys were doing was praising the God who can handle every situation. When we do the same, we are reminding God of the promises in His Word, and reminding ourselves of the goodness of God. We’re not doing it to try and manipulate God, but put our problem into the correct perspective, raising out eyes to the One who is in control.

So praise the One who was, and is, and is yet to come, before making your petition. It has really changed my prayer life, making it more of an intimate conversation, instead of just asking for things.

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