“Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” – Luke 6:28
Are you a prayer warrior? I want to be. I like talking to God, and I almost always pray for my family and friends in the mornings during my quiet time with the Lord. When someone I love is hurting, I pray for them, and when there are needs among those I know, I pray for them. But I am sorely lacking in one area of prayer. I cannot recall the last time I prayed for someone I considered an “enemy.”
Right now, I can think of several people in government for whom prayer is desperately needed, but I haven’t really prayed for them. I pray for my President. I pray for the Vice President. I pray for my governor. These are specific individuals for whom the Bible tells me to pray. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 states, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
But there are a lot of people in government that support issues and causes that are unbiblical, and I do not remember a time when I truly prayed for them. It is wrong for me to withhold prayer for these individuals. The Bible tells me that I need to pray for those who “curse me.” When these people denounce the Word of God as a fairy tale, and they seek to criminalize Christianity, I see that as a “curse” upon me and my faith. I should be praying for them, and I should be praying for them by name if I know who they are.
Will I like doing that? Probably not. But I must obey the Lord. In Matthew 5:44, the Scripture again tells me to pray for my enemies. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” It is my responsibility to pray for them!
The only way to change an individual’s mindset is through Jesus Christ. It is the gospel that changes people, not protests, not rantings and ravings, not behaving as the world behaves when it doesn’t get its way. My obligation as a child of God is to pray fervently for those who are my enemies! I must pray for the Lord to open their eyes to their need for a Saviour! I am reminded that if someone did not pray for me when I was their enemy, I may never have come to know Christ as my Saviour. The world is full of those who hate God, and my response needs to be born of His love within me. I must pray for them without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17).
Shamefully, I have found myself complaining about the national situation, our state laws, and even the local community, but I do not recall lifting up in prayer those in opposition to my way of thinking. James 4:2 tells me, “…yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” Today as I pray, I will pray for my family, my friends, my governmental leaders, and… my enemies. I will ask God to move mightily in our land. I will pray that His Spirit will break down the walls of hatred and resistance to Him. I will pray the gospel will find a place in the hearts of those who seek to destroy everything that is Biblical, godly, and right in the sight of God.
I will pray for a revival… in the hearts of my enemies, but also in the heart of me.
Forgive, oh Lord, and heal our land
And give us eyes to seek Your face and hearts to understand
That You alone make all things new
And the blessings of the land we love are really gifts from You
Unite our hearts in one accord
And make us hungry for Your peace and burdened for the poor
And grant us hope that we might see
The future for the land we love, our life, our liberty
If My people will humbly pray and seek My face and turn away
From all their wicked ways
Then I will hear them and move My hand
And freely then will I forgive and I will heal their land
(from “Heal Our Land” by Jonathan Butler)
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” – Matthew17:20
**********
If you really believe prayer changes things, pray!