Friday, February 22, 2013 -- Living Lonely Or Living In Love (3)

What is loneliness for me? What effects of loneliness have I experienced? What can I do to live in a world of friends and being befriended?

Dealing With Loneliness

1.Personality Issues

•Become a person who is easy to be around. Develop an informal, easy going manner when conversing with others.

•Work on shedding the rough parts of your personality. If you can’t pinpoint them, ask someone you trust to help you with this.

•Don’t be too sensitive; examining yourself gently will pay off.

•When you show someone respect it will bring you respect in return.

Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel (Put your name here), put your hope in the Lord—now and always. (Psalm 131 NLT)

2.Interest Issues

•Look for the similarities between you and those around you rather than dwelling on the differences.

•Develop an interest in many things so that you can have a common ground with more people.

•Genuinely acknowledge others’ accomplishments.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:3-4 NLT)

3.Initiative issues

•Take the initial step to reach out to someone: this helps you avoid feel hopeless and powerless.

•Go where people are (drop-ins, classes, church, etc.) and pray that God will lead you to someone who needs a friend.

•Get involved in work and community projects that fill some empty time and also help meet people. Every Christian has worth in the Body of Christ and has a service to perform which will benefit others.

Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11 NLT)

As long as we maintain a lifestyle that looks to people, performance, possessions, or events to fill our loneliness, we will remain lonely. We need to welcome the loving presence of God deep inside our souls, the place that only He can fill, and we will experience satisfaction beyond what we've ever known. Will we still have some moments of loneliness? Yes. Will we know how to turn from the loneliness and quickly find love and care? Yes

God, I come to you because I feel lonely and I don't know what to do about it. Thank you for caring. I give myself to you today so your love can be sung in my heart. I want a new experience of Your love today that you promise is fresh and new. I come to you because I need rest and I long to have my soul restored. Touch my heart right now. Hold me close to Your heart. Help me to experience Your closeness and show me how to live in love today. I'm willing to learn. Show me a new way. Bring someone along to help me know what to do. 

Find telephone numbers for people to help at:http://pihprayer.blogspot.ca/2013/02/247-prayer-support.html