What does it mean to pray for your enemies?

Answer

Several places in the Bible command us to pray for our enemies (Luke 6:27,35;Romans 12:20). One of the most familiar passages is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:43–45, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” It is evident that Jesus expects us to pray for our enemies, but how should we do that?

Our initial response to that question is likely not the correct one. When someone harms us, our inclination may be to pray for misfortune to befall them! We might feel tempted to recite the imprecatory psalms and anticipate God’s retribution on the wrongdoers, similar to Jonah’s attitude outside Nineveh. However, this is not the essence of Jesus’ instruction on praying for our enemies. He had a more beneficial approach in mind that would not only help our enemies but also ourselves.

When someone intends to harm us, our instinctive reaction is to defend ourselves and retaliate. If they spread rumors about us, we might gossip about them. If they lie about us, we may lie about them in return. If they tarnish our reputation, we might do the same to theirs. Nevertheless, Jesus calls us to a higher standard. He exemplified this standard by never seeking revenge when wronged. Despite facing numerous wrongs, He did not retaliate. His own people rejected His message “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”, (John 1:11). The religious leaders mocked and attempted to trap Him “This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.”, (John 8:6). His own family was

Ashamed of Him and tried to make Him stop preaching «And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.», (Mark 3:21). His friends deserted Him in His worst moment «And they all forsook him, and fled.», (Mark 14:50), and the city who had cried “Hosanna!” when He arrived in town shouted “Crucify Him!” a few days later «And they cried out again, Crucify him.», (Mark 15:13). So, Jesus had enemies, and when He said to pray for our enemies, He knew what He was talking about.

Jesus gave us a perfect example of praying for our enemies when He was being nailed to a cross. In the middle of His own agony, He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” «Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.», (Luke 23:34). He talked to His Father about the people who were harming Him. He did not ask for their destruction; He did not pray for revenge. He prayed they would be forgiven. Jesus had compassion on the deceived people who believed they were doing the right thing by killing the Son of God. They had no idea what was actually taking place. They had no idea how wrong they were. When Jesus said, “They don’t know what they are doing,” He hinted at an important factor to keep in mind when we pray for our enemies.

The enemies we pray for hurt us from their own world of hurt. Their thinking may be influenced by the devil «in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.», (2 Corinthians 4:4). Their attitudes may have been shaped by past wounds “And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.”, (Judges 15:7). Their actions may have been manipulated by peer influences (2 Kings 12:13-14). None of this excuses their behavior or minimizes the damage they cause, but it helps to explain the why of the matter. People do what they do for their own reasons. They may not be valid reasons, but they seem so to the ones who hold them. So how do we pray for those who have hurt us and never tried to make it right?

1. We can pray that God will “open the eyes of their hearts that they will be enlightened” about truth “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”, (Ephesians 1:18). When enemies set themselves against us, they lack understanding. They are reacting from the flesh instead of responding from the Spirit. We can pray that God will open their hearts with understanding so that they will learn from their mistakes and grow wiser.

2. As we pray for our enemies, we can pray for their repentance. Second Timothy 2:25 says that “opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.” It is God who softens hearts enough for repentance. When we pray for our enemies to repent, we know we are praying in accordance with God’s will because He also desires their repentance “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” , (2 Peter 3:9).

3. When we pray for our enemies, we can ask that our hearts will remain soft and useful if the Lord wants to use us to accomplish His plan in the lives of our enemies. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” “A soft answer turneth away wrath: But grievous words stir up anger.”, (Proverbs 15:1). When we return anger for anger, wrong for wrong, we put ourselves on the same level as our enemy. But when we respond with kindness, gentleness, and mercy, the situation is often diffused within moments. Nothing is more convicting than a gentle response to a hateful, rude action. It’s what turning the other cheek is all about see Matthew 5:39. Satan desires discord, so he tries to stir up our fury and coaches us to respond in kind. We should pray that God keeps our hearts soft toward the offenders so that His goodness will be revealed to them through us.

4. As we pray for our enemies, we can pray that God will work in their lives because of this offense to bring about His purposes. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”, (Matthew 6:10). It is always right to ask that God’s will be done in any situation. We should pray until we want what He wants. If He wants to bless our enemy, we want that, too. If He wants us to serve our enemy in some way, then that’s what we want. Prayer is the aligning of our wills with God’s; when we pray for our enemies, we need to wrestle through our emotions until we truly want God’s best in their lives.

Praying for our enemies is not a natural response to their mistreatment. But we remeRemember that we were once enemies of God ourselves, and we are now His children. We can now intercede for others who are still far off «And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled », (Colossians 1:21). In doing so, we keep our own hearts free from bitterness «looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; », (Hebrews 12:15). By praying for our enemies, we become more like Christ, and we align ourselves with God’s will, which is how every human being was designed to live.