On Praying Effectively — Praying for our Enemies

This is the third in a series of blog posts on “Praying Effectively.”  Today’s focus is on:

“Praying for our Enemies”

One of the most difficult times to pray is when we need to pray for our enemy.

That’s right…the enemy. The person we perceive to hate us, or who is definitely not for us and may actually be against us.

How can we pray for our enemies?

As He hung on the cross, Jesus, having suffered incredible pain and torture, asked God to forgive those who were intent on putting him to death:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

— Luke 23:34

Soon-to-be martyred, Stephen, prayed a similar prayer as he was being stoned:

“Falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord do not hold this sin against them!”

— Acts 7:60

Verse 61 of Acts 7 incredibly records that Saul was there giving approval to Stephen’s stoning.

Stephen was humble, a servant of Christ, full of integrity, fairness and wisdom.

Where would his successor be found?

Ironically…within the ranks of the Enemy. The very person who guarded the clothes of those who had stoned Stephen.

It was Saul (who later became Paul) who God would commission to bring the message of the gospel to Jew and Gentile alike. A Pharisee and a persecutor of the followers of Jesus, including Stephen, this same Saul would be converted and used by God to bring countless souls to Him.

Knowing our True Enemy

Scripture reminds us that we are in a spiritual battle:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

— Ephesians 6:12

Have you ever been on the receiving end of gossip, slander, snobbiness or what millennials or Generation Y call “shade?”

In her article entitled, “A Prayer to Pray for your Enemies,” author Kia Stephens notes that although these actions are painful, unkind, and unwanted when directed at you, you have to recognize that another person’s behavior does not really make him/her the enemy. 

Who is the true enemy?

None other than Satan himself.

Praying for others and specifically for our enemies, must include a prayer for ourselves that we clearly recognize who our real enemy is.

This doesn’t mean that we completely dismiss the actions of those around us, but we understand that their bad behavior is heavily influenced by Satan — our most formidable foe.

Charles Spurgeon, known as the “Prince among Preachers,” reminds us that:

“By failing to pray and witness to our enemies, we aid and abet the adversary or Enemy. In these ways, the false witnesses lay down their clothes at our feet, and we, like Saul once was, become their accomplice.”

We make a difference in our lives and those of our perceived enemies through prayer.

We begin by recognizing that our fellow man or woman is not the enemy.

And we pray, as Jesus did — as Stephen did — that God would forgive them and extend His divine grace to them.

Just as He has so graciously done for each one of us who asks.