Romans 5:10 says, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Pray for your Enemy
Our enemies are anyone we categorize as unworthy of the command, “Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39).
Our enemy doesn’t have to be an arch enemy from the house of Montague or Capulet like in “Romeo and Juliet.”
When we treat people as unworthy of our prayers and love, we then become an enemy of God’s command to love others.
God didn’t ask you to love just the lovely people. He asks you to love the guy who cut you off in traffic, the unyielding customer who is making your life difficult, the supervisor who gave you an unfair evaluation at work because they have something against you, or the unhappy person who does whatever they can to make your life unhappy.
God convicted me as my husband and I lifted up in prayer our friends and loved ones who struggled and needed God’s intervention.
He spoke softly to me as we were praying asking why I wasn’t lifting up in prayer the woman who was making my life difficult at work because even though she has never spoken to me or met me, she formed a negative opinion about me.
God asked me why I only lifted up in prayer the people I loved and cared for. I was only doing the easy part of the command to “Love thy neighbor.”
Love Thy Neighbor
I realized then that loving our neighbor is so much more than loving people who are easy.
Through the covering of our prayers to those we do not necessarily like or agree with, we are speaking to God on their behalf. We are asking Him to intervene in the struggles and deep needs they may be experiencing.
We are asking God to heal their hurts as we let go of the hurt they have may caused us. God knows every intimate detail about the person we don’t like because He loves them just as much as He loves us.
Who knows? We may be the only ones lifting that person up in prayer and God put them in our path so we could pray for them.
As Christians, we intimately know the power our prayers can wield.
If everyone in the world prayed for everyone else, whether we deem them worthy or unworthy of our love, just imagine how the world could change.
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