Having The Courage to Pray for Our Enemies

Do you have a list of prayer requests? 

I have a friend who has one of the most amazing prayer lists I’ve ever seen. It’s pages and pages of names with the individual requests named. This friend goes through the whole list each day. It’s one of the most powerful testimonies I know of for the power of prayer. 

I find it interesting that Jesus never gives us a list of everything we are to pray for. This is probably because the list would include pretty much everything.

However, Jesus does leave us with a few key reminders. 

Jesus reminds us to lift up both the easiest things and the hardest things. 

It’s easy to forget to invite God into the simple things of life like our “daily bread” so it makes sense that Jesus would remind us to pray for that. 

The real challenge comes from when Jesus reminds us to pray for hard things. One of the biggest challenges is praying for our enemies. To pray for our enemies requires us to be open to God extending mercy and even blessing for those who hurt us. That can require some deep healing and grace.

Praying for our enemies will require courage and strength. Without God’s grace and power, the task can seem impossible. In my own life, this has meant I need to pray for God to work in me first. God grant us all the grace to pray how Christ commands us.

Question for Today
– Are you willing to ask God for the grace to pray for someone who hurt you this week?