Prayer Call: A Wrong Text
Good Morning BFB & Friends!
God has been placing something in my spirit — even last week, wrestling with me then and still wrestling with me now. Three words for us this morning. Just three: Pause. Pray. Filter.
We’ve been in this “Check Your DM” theme, and today’s thought comes from something simple: a wrong text. You ever responded to the wrong text before? You fire off a message real quick, and then you look back and realize, “Oh man… wrong person.” Then you send that follow‑up: “Sorry, wrong text.”
Most of the time, that happens because we’re rushed. Life gets busy. We’re juggling too much. We let what’s around us distract us from what we were supposed to be doing.
And spiritually, the same thing can happen.
When We Respond to the Wrong Message
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.” -Galatians 1:6 (NKJV)
Paul writes this letter to the church in Galatia, a church he founded and labored in. But this letter doesn’t sound like his others. It’s sharper. It’s urgent. Because the people had started responding to the wrong message.
A group called the Judaizers had come in teaching, “Yes, believe in Jesus — but also add these Jewish rituals, festivals, and requirements. Faith alone isn’t enough.” And Paul is saying, “You’re drifting. You’re listening to the wrong text.”
If we’re honest, our walk with Christ can drift the same way. We let voices, pressures, distractions, and emotions pull us off course. We start responding to things God never intended for us to respond to. But I believe these three words — pause, pray, filter — can help us get back into the right text.
Pause
Pausing is not weakness. Pausing is spiritual. Pausing gives us space to slow down and evaluate what we’re doing before we react.
Everything that pops up on your phone, in your mind, or in your feed does not deserve your energy. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is pause. Because when we pause, we give ourselves room to hear God again.
Pray
After we pause, we pray. Before we respond outwardly, let us talk upwardly to God.
Not every opportunity is from God. Not every voice speaking into your life is from God.
Not every thought you have is from God.
Prayer helps us settle the difference. Prayer helps us discern: “God, is this You — or is this someone or something else?”
Filter
Finally, we filter. Paul tells the Galatians they have drifted from the true gospel. So the question becomes: Does what I’m hearing line up with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Run it through the filter. Run it through the gospel:
If it pulls you away from Christ, it’s the wrong text. If it fills you with fear, doubt, or shame, filter it out — because God has not given us the spirit of fear. If it makes you anxious, angry, prideful, or hopeless, filter it out — because God is the lifter of your head.
Filter your thoughts.
Filter your reactions.
Filter your decisions.
Filter your emotions.
Filter your opportunities.
Filter your conversations.
Filter everything through the gospel.
Staying in the Right Text
This week, you’re going to receive opinions, pressures, temptations, opportunities, and criticism. But you don’t have to drift like the church in Galatia. You can stay in the right text.
Pause.
Pray.
Filter.
And when you do, you can be confident that you're staying in the right text, you’re hearing from the right God, and you're following the right gospel.
Amen and amen.
God has been placing something in my spirit — even last week, wrestling with me then and still wrestling with me now. Three words for us this morning. Just three: Pause. Pray. Filter.
We’ve been in this “Check Your DM” theme, and today’s thought comes from something simple: a wrong text. You ever responded to the wrong text before? You fire off a message real quick, and then you look back and realize, “Oh man… wrong person.” Then you send that follow‑up: “Sorry, wrong text.”
Most of the time, that happens because we’re rushed. Life gets busy. We’re juggling too much. We let what’s around us distract us from what we were supposed to be doing.
And spiritually, the same thing can happen.
When We Respond to the Wrong Message
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.” -Galatians 1:6 (NKJV)
Paul writes this letter to the church in Galatia, a church he founded and labored in. But this letter doesn’t sound like his others. It’s sharper. It’s urgent. Because the people had started responding to the wrong message.
A group called the Judaizers had come in teaching, “Yes, believe in Jesus — but also add these Jewish rituals, festivals, and requirements. Faith alone isn’t enough.” And Paul is saying, “You’re drifting. You’re listening to the wrong text.”
If we’re honest, our walk with Christ can drift the same way. We let voices, pressures, distractions, and emotions pull us off course. We start responding to things God never intended for us to respond to. But I believe these three words — pause, pray, filter — can help us get back into the right text.
Pause
Pausing is not weakness. Pausing is spiritual. Pausing gives us space to slow down and evaluate what we’re doing before we react.
- Pause before you send that email.
- Pause before you respond to that comment.
- Pause before you get angry.
- Pause before you have that difficult conversation.
- Pause before you let someone’s words ruin your whole day.
- Pause before you let your emotions lead you somewhere God didn’t send you.
Everything that pops up on your phone, in your mind, or in your feed does not deserve your energy. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is pause. Because when we pause, we give ourselves room to hear God again.
Pray
After we pause, we pray. Before we respond outwardly, let us talk upwardly to God.
- “Lord, is this You?”
- “Is this message from You?”
- “Give me wisdom. Give me discernment.”
- “Guard my heart before I walk into this meeting.”
- “Calm my mind before I face this disappointment.”
Not every opportunity is from God. Not every voice speaking into your life is from God.
Not every thought you have is from God.
Prayer helps us settle the difference. Prayer helps us discern: “God, is this You — or is this someone or something else?”
Filter
Finally, we filter. Paul tells the Galatians they have drifted from the true gospel. So the question becomes: Does what I’m hearing line up with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Run it through the filter. Run it through the gospel:
- Does it sound like grace?
- Does it sound like Jesus?
- Does it produce peace or panic?
- Does it pull me toward Christ or away from Him?
If it pulls you away from Christ, it’s the wrong text. If it fills you with fear, doubt, or shame, filter it out — because God has not given us the spirit of fear. If it makes you anxious, angry, prideful, or hopeless, filter it out — because God is the lifter of your head.
Filter your thoughts.
Filter your reactions.
Filter your decisions.
Filter your emotions.
Filter your opportunities.
Filter your conversations.
Filter everything through the gospel.
Staying in the Right Text
This week, you’re going to receive opinions, pressures, temptations, opportunities, and criticism. But you don’t have to drift like the church in Galatia. You can stay in the right text.
Pause.
Pray.
Filter.
And when you do, you can be confident that you're staying in the right text, you’re hearing from the right God, and you're following the right gospel.
Amen and amen.
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