How To: Encouraging People

[ChristsCourage]

I would like to know how to encourage people beyond what I am doing on my group here Encouragement Central. What can you guys tell someone that is training to encourage people without sounding like he does not feel happy, or, like the encouragement is sincere. Help!!!!!!! Any, and, all advice will be appreciated. Thank you, and, GOD Bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ServantofTruth]

Encouragement can be exciting or it can be quiet. Sometimes you will want to shout praise at other times close the door and pray alone. The same with encouragement, i guess, it's not always getting excited and hyper - sometimes it's just listening and comforting and hardly saying a word.

I'll write more, but now i won't know where to go! :pp My advise for those who reply here is take a look at ChristsCourage group -Encouragement Central and please join. I need your encouragement, i've had a couple of 'weak' days. Thank you, SofTy.

[HisLeast]

The key to encouragement is empathy. I think as long as you're genuine in your efforts to understand someone's struggles, you'll be offering all the encouragement you can.

[ChristsCourage]

Thanks guys. I LOVE what has been said so far. Empathy is very important when you are trying to lift someone's spirits up. And, by just reading what you wrote guys, I feel more encouraged to go on, and, keep encouraging people to the best of my abilities. Keep em coming guys. Some scripture would be nice to have along when you are encouraging people.

[Revinius]

Sometimes the best encouragement is to simply care. Spend an hour or so a week and just call people up and see how they are, keep a prayer list and pray weekly (at least) for those on the list (which you should update as you speak with them). It's hard work but so incredibly needed. :)

Also, when i wish to express my thanks at someones servant attitude i will just come right out and say it in front of people. It's important to praise those who do good and set such an example of selfless rightiousness to others. Imagine how awesome the people of God could be if we just took that extra step of servanthood (especially when we dont feel like it).

God Bless.

[sapphire904]

Hello!
I think everyone's suggestions so far are very good. Here are some more to help you and I've added some passages that may be useful.

I think that mercy is very important. People need encouragement when they mess up (sin) and they start to feel guilty, thinking that they are not being good Christians. You can let them know that Christ took away our sin so we can have a direct, loving relationship with our Father.
"When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair." 2 CORINTHIANS 2:17

If they are going through a rough time, ROMANS 8:28-29 is good to reflect on. "We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, 29and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children." ---- It's important to know that God wants us to be like his Son and in order to refine us so that we may be like Jesus, He has to take us through some suffering and experiences just like Jesus went through. ROMANS 8:17b "We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him."

God goes through the pain with us and will never leave us. He doesn't just sit on the side lines and watch. He wants us to build character so we may use it in eternity. ROMANS 5:3-4 "we know that suffering helps us to endure. And endurance builds character, which gives us hope." Our circumstances are temporary, but our character lasts forever.

Also, there are a couple good books I'd like to recommend. one is called "Just Enough Ligh for the Step I'm On" by Stormie Omartian and "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. I think they are both wonderful books that have encouraged me when I needed it.

Hope this helps!! God bless you and your efforts to help others. :D

[Sold Out]

I would like to know how to encourage people beyond what I am doing on my group here Encouragement Central. What can you guys tell someone that is training to encourage people without sounding like he does not feel happy, or, like the encouragement is sincere. Help!!!!!!! Any, and, all advice will be appreciated. Thank you, and, GOD Bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do a word study in the bible. Look up all the times the words 'encourage' or 'encouragement' are used. Maybe also look up edify, build up.

Also look up the greek definitions when you find them. I used a website called Blue Letter Bible (www.blueletterbible.org).

[Tanya~]

Hi Dana,

Think about this Scripture passage:

2 Cor 1:3-7
3 All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God's comfort.
NLT

What he is saying here is that when we go through troubles, we find our comfort in the Lord. And then when the Lord comforts us, we can then use that to give comfort to others. So for example if you are troubled and you spend time in prayer and in reading the Scripture, something will come to your mind that will give you some comfort. Or maybe another person will speak words of comfort to your heart. You can then encourage others by sharing that. What you could do is post the Scripture that gave you comfort, and you can say a few words about why you were comforted by it. Then someone else will read it and be comforted by it too.