In the previous post, we talked about the importance of praying for others. That doesn’t mean simply praying for family, friends, missionaries, and for our favorite teams to win. It’s easy to pray for those people.
Jesus added to that list when he was preaching on a mountainside:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” (Matthew 5:43)
Jesus is quoting from Leviticus 19:18, but it’s important to know that “hate your enemy” is not found anywhere in the Bible. By Jesus’ day, it had become part of the teachings of the Jewish faith, but God never gave that command. Jesus continued:
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
I can just see the looks of shock on the faces of the people who were there that day. We’re to love and pray for our enemies?
It’s radical enough that Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies. But even that isn’t too difficult. We could say a quick prayer, look at God, and say, “I didn’t want to do that, but I obeyed!”
Jesus says that we are to love our enemies. That’s a whole other level of commitment. He’s saying that no matter what that person does to us, how he or she treats us, we will never allow bitterness against that person to seep into our thoughts. And it isn’t that we’re to be neutral about those who hurt us. We’re supposed to want the best for them in life.
That’s impossible, right?
Yes, it’s most likely impossible — in our strength. But Jesus never gives us a command without also giving us the necessary strength to obey. Loving our enemies can usually happen only by the grace and strength of Jesus. When we surrender to him and seek his will, he gives us the strength to do impossible things, like loving our enemies.
Jesus also knows that the best way to start the journey toward loving our enemies is to pray for them. When we pray this way, we’re talking to the God who knows our hearts, who knows whether we’re just going through the motions out of obedience.
But when we pray for our enemies, regardless of our attitude, we’re doing something powerful. We’re coming to the very throne of our Heavenly Father on that person’s behalf. It’s very difficult to hate someone in the presence of the God of love.
As we pray for our enemies, something takes place. God may change that person. God may change the situation. But God will most definitely change us.
Here’s the result:
“…so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:45)
By loving your enemies, you demonstrate to those around you that you truly are a son or daughter of your Father. True love makes you stand out in the crowd. You’ll bring glory to God, which is always our ultimate goal.
I won’t mention any names to protect the privacy of some of the folks in this story, but a godly woman told me something that happened in her life years before. Her son-in-law had left her daughter and their 6-month-old child. Not only that, but he had previously convinced his wife to put the apartment and car in his name so that they now both belonged to him. The mother who was sharing this with me said that when she found out about the car and apartment, she was filled with rage and hatred for the man. It was one thing to leave the family and break her daughter’s heart, but it was another to take everything she had.
The mother was filled with anger and bitterness, but she realized that God wasn’t in those emotions. So she began asking God to take those feelings away from her, and to help her come to love her former son-in-law. She said that suddenly as she was praying she could physically feel the weight of that anger and bitterness and hatred lifting off of her, and she felt nothing but love and compassion for the man.
From that day for the rest of her life, she prayed for him every day. She also shared with him about Jesus whenever she could.
Today, over 50 years later, that man and his second wife are committed Christians who lead a small group in their church.
It isn’t easy to pray for people who hurt us. It’s even more difficult to pray for people who’ve hurt people we love.
But when we decide to obey, God moves. We have no idea at the time what God will do with our requests, but we do know where to start.
Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.