Wednesday, October 22, 2014

How Shall We Pray for our Enemies?

- David depended on God to deal with his enemies. God is our Help and our Hope in all circumstances. Some people may accuse us of things that are untrue and some may seek to hurt/harm us. We don't have to worry or fear; we just need to trust God and rest in Him. We belong to the Almighty God! Those people will be put to shame, destroyed, and covered with scorn and disgrace. We can see from David's prayer here that he's desperate for God's help and protection. He wanted God to cause his enemies' wicked plots to fail. "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14)
- When Jesus said in Matthew 5:44-45a, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in Heaven", I don't think He had this prayer of David in mind :). However, David's prayer reminds me that God also listens and understands our desperate, frustrated, confused, helpless, not-so-nice prayers. It also makes me wonder how we should pray for our enemies. I personally don't have any enemies but I do pray for "enemies" who are hurting people around the world such as the ISIS and other terrorists. I usually pray that God will stop their madness, that they will turn away from their wicked ways & wrong beliefs, and that they will surrender their lives to Christ. How do you pray for your enemies?

nikkisnacs

5 comments:

White Lace and Promises said...

I so needed this today. Since my parents died, I have lost the relationship with my brother, his family and my husband's family. It's like when I lost them, I lost my family. Some misunderstandings that were hidden for years for the sake of my parents came out. Oh goodness. The Lord spoke to me in my spirit and said, "You do not have to fight this battle. Stand still and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today." It's hard for me to stand still, but I can nothing else. I'm leaving it to HIM. Prayers, my friend. Bonnie

PATTIPEANUT said...

Thanks for sharing. I enjoy reading your posts. As a homeschooling mom, I feel this is something we really need to do as Christians. I pray for those who could be considered enemies primarily of Christians in general.

Alice Gerard said...

Well, like you, I don't have any personal enemies. There are annoying people in my life but I wouldn't describe them as enemies. I do pray for everyone, including terrorists and other people who are considered evil enemies, because I believe that God made all of us in His image and that we can all be redeemed. No one is a hopeless cause.
Thank you for your post that reminded me that we must pray for our enemies and that we can't just take the easy route of only praying for people we like.

bookworm said...

I do not, at this time, have any personal enemies. But, I knew people who sustained losses on 9/11. I worked with a man who lost his son. A cousin lost her next door neighbor; a cousin's husband lost his best friend. 13 people who went to my high school died on that day. I've seen what hatred can do to families. But praying for enemies (other to pray that they abandon the path they have taken)- that is one difficult thing that I have never attempted. Alana

Lisa said...

Thank you for this good reminder today.
Bless you with JOY on your amazing adventure journey with Jesus!
Lisa

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