Prayer: For Enemies

For a few weeks we have been featuring material from Teach Us to Pray  ©1995 by Discipleship Publications International and edited by Tom and Sheila Jones. This week’s post is excerpted and adapted from a chapter by John Porter, the lead evangelist for the South Florida Church in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. . . .” (Matthew 5:44).

Opposition to us as disciples may take the form of critical brothers, angry family members, deceptive journalists, or even, as Jesus himself could attest to, murderers.  But whoever the enemies may be, the words of Jesus are still the same:  “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to be glaringly different from those around us.  Living in a “religious” part of the world where people are apparently “good” can make this challenging at times. Ironically, it is our enemies who afford us the opportunity to glorify God by shining like stars in the universe (Philippians 2:15).  Perhaps in no other area can a Christian so obviously distinguish himself from the religious “do-gooders.”  To forgive, love and pray for our enemies is behavior described in the Bible as “perfect” (Matthew 5:48) that is, like God.  To be “like God” is to go completely “against the grain” of our sinful human nature.  Only someone who loves God earnestly and has an eternal perspective on life is able to surrender himself to this depth of love.

We must also understand that this behavior is neither optional nor outstanding—it is standard operating procedure for every disciple.  The Bible emphatically states that we must forgive and love our enemies to be permitted to be sons of God and to enter heaven (Matthew 5:44; 18:35).

God’s answer to opposition is not humanistic retaliation but love and prayer.  The keys to “righteous” prayers in these situations are, of course, found in the Scriptures.  When praying for our enemies we should focus on:

l)     Their need for forgiveness and salvation (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60)

2)    The power of God to change them and the situation (Acts 4:24-28)

3)    Our need to continue to preach boldly (Acts 4:29)

These will produce a quiet confidence that God is in control and will use the situation to bear much fruit and give glory to his name.