TRANSFORMING PRAYER

For whom do you pray?

  • Yourself?
  • Family members?
  • Friends?
  • Coworkers?
  • Government officials?
  • What about those who are antagonistic toward you or seeking to injure you?

Consider the following verse:

ESV  Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Praying for ourselves and those we care about is not an awkward thing for us to desire let alone do.

But pray for those who persecute you? And love your enemies?

This instruction from Christ  is not easy to accept when we rely on our human nature.

Most, if we are honest with ourselves, usually want revenge on those who have harmed us in addition to an easy escape away from them.

Worse yet, in today’s culture, many practice hate and revenge simply because they disagree with another person over trivial to significant issues.

But if we claim to be Christian, meaning a disciple of Christ Jesus, the son of our Lord, then we need to reconsider our natural human tendency in this arena.

Understanding Why

ESV  Matthew 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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.

Our heavenly Father provides sun and rain for all the earth, not just those of us who worship him.

In other words, Christ is instructing us to remember that all humans, no matter how they treat us, are under our heavenly Father’s providence.

ESV  Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Further, all humans are image bearers of our heavenly Father.

Those of us who have embraced this truth are called to be His representative on earth.

Those of us who have yet to embrace this truth, or worse yet, have rejected it, need our prayers and love.

Consider the following verses:

ESV  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

ESV  2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

The Lord’s instruction is that we extend love and pray for those who intentionally choose to cause us harm so they see the compassion and care that the Lord has for his creation through us.

How to begin?

I suggest using the Lord’s Prayer as a model beginning with the forgiveness request:

ESV  Matthew 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Take a moment to rephrase the verse above using specific names and instances of those who have harmed you that you need to forgive.

ESV  Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Spend time praying about the temptations those who have harmed you have succumbed to by choosing to do harm and asking the Lord to deliver them from all evil.

ESV  Matthew 6:9 “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Take time to acknowledge that your heavenly Father is also your enemies heavenly Father.

Request that those who have harmed you have their eyes opened to see this truth and to begin to seek to honor His name.

ESV  Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Express your desire for your heavenly Father’s kingdom and will to be seen by your abusers.

ESV  Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Finish by requesting that your abuser’s daily needs be met and that your abuser will recognize that their needs are granted by Him.

Counter Point

Keep in mind the instruction in Matthew 5:44 is to love and pray.

This does not mean one needs to stay in proximity to or in close fellowship with one’s abusers.

Consider the following instruction Christ gave his disciples when he sent them out as witnesses:

ESV  Matthew 10:14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.

There are times when our Lord  allows putting distance between you and someone who has harmed you.

Consider Christ’s example when he was rejected in Nazareth:

ESV  Luke 4:28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

Consider when Christ was telling the Jews who He is:

ESV  John 8:57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. (Joh 8:57 ESV)

Here is another time Jesus escaped from harm:

ESV  John 10:31-33 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

ESV  John 10:34-39 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came– and Scripture cannot be broken– 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

Christ was able to escape those who wanted to harm him because the time had not come for him to offer himself up to crucifixion on our behalf.

Once that time came, Christ prayed for himself, his disciples, and all believers. (See John 17.)

 And we are called to pray for our abusers as Christ did while being crucified:

ESV  Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Reflection questions:

  • What characteristic is to distinguish a Christian from the verses above?
  • How does this impact your love for those who have hurt you?
  • What does this suggest about how we should grow after we have received mercy from God?
  • Are you ready to put into practice praying for those who have harmed you?
  • How would your life be different as God helps you to put this into practice?
  • How might your abuser’s life be different as God helps you to put this into practice?
  • Have you witnessed God changing the heart and mindset of someone who has harmed you to one who supports and helps you instead?

A prayer for us:

May our heavenly Father grant us a heart and mind of compassion for those who have harmed us

May we acknowledge we need our heavenly Father’s grace and mercy to put into practice loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us.

May the Lord enable us to escape from harm when prudent while we continue to pray for those who attempted to harm us. This is how we may best love our enemies.

Transform us Lord!

Blessings,

Barbara Lynn

SHARE WITH OTHERS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *