04. Pray for MY Enemies
God’s Bucket List for You, part 7
Introduction
Prayer is one of the easiest
things we can do, as a Christian, and yet it is sometimes the one activity we
don’t do enough of in our daily routine. For some it’s prayer before each meal
and before going to bed.
Speaking to God should be
done more often throughout the day. In addition to praying for our food, and
the things we have, we should also pray for your friends, family, loved ones,
etc.
However, for our bucket
list, God also wants us to pray for His enemies. That’s right! And this will be
one of the hardest things on the list to do.
From the Sermon on the Mount
In Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus
said, “You have heard
that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say
to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may
be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on
the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
This shows that God does not
show partiality, and neither should we. When He sends rain upon the earth,
everyone benefits from it whether they are righteous or not. He doesn’t pick
and choose who will get rain and who won’t. When we pray, we should pray for
all mankind; including those who have wronged us or others.
Some New Testament Examples
Jesus on the Cross—We
should all be familiar with the crucifixion scene, and the final words uttered
by our Lord and Savior. But did you ever wonder what he meant when He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do
not know what they do.” (Luke
23:34)? If Jesus, being deity, can forgive people of their sins, then why
didn’t He forgive these people?
The answer is that these
people weren’t going to repent of what they were doing. Instead, He asks God to
forgive for what they are doing. Even though He knows it has to be done, He
also knows that these people won’t understand it until after His resurrection
and ascension (Acts 2:36-38).
When Stephen was Martyred—At
the conclusion of Stephen’s oration, and when he was cast outside and stoned to
death, he said, “Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord,
do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:59-60). Those who
killed him were stiff-necked individuals (vs. 51-52) who didn’t want to hear
their own history. He prayed to God for their deliverance as they were ignorant
to the truth.
We Can be Better
As Christians, we should be
better in handling bad situations. In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul
said, Be of the same
mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate
with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for
evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible,
as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men (Romans
12:16-18).
He concludes his thought in
verses 20-21, Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in
so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good. Be the better person by helping someone
in need even if that person has wronged you. Rise above the situation and show
that you don’t hold a grudge.
Conclusion
When pray for our enemies,
we pray for them to obtain a heart of understanding. This way they just might
take time to read the bible and see that they are not a Christian or haven’t
been living their life the right way. If they know you’re a Christian, they
just might turn to you and seek assistance in understanding the scriptures.
Remember, an enemy today can become a brother, or sister, in Christ tomorrow.
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