Pray for and Love Your Enemies
By: David McFadden
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-45
Most of us have faced seemingly hopeless predicaments when another person has presented himself as an adversary. When things seem impossible, God has already provided an answer. Ours is to courageously act on His Word and pray selflessly for that person. God will move on your behalf when you “live out” His Law of Love.
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He began a long teaching intended to flip natural thinking. Jesus wanted to reveal God’s “Law of Love.” One of the most unnatural lessons that Jesus taught was to love our enemies. In other words, when we obey Jesus’ Law of Love, we oppose worldly wisdom. When we are brave enough to do it, we step into God’s supernatural provision—by acting in faith and standing on God’s Word. When we muster the courage and become a doer of the Word, our obedience will release the promise attached to God’s commandment to love our enemies. Obedience unties the “bow” that releases the blessing held in the promise.
We do His Word and we pray His Word—We are God’s Word to the people we know and meet. We pray God’s Word over the people we know and meet.
By choosing to pray for, and bless your enemies, you unleash God’s Zoopoieo (1) power, producing a miraculous result that astounds natural wisdom. If you have not experienced this remarkable principle, note three things that happen when you pray for and love your adversary.
1. When praying earnestly for another person, you grow closer to that person. Your decision to sincerely pray for your adversary takes you out-of-yourself to “walk in his shoes.” You have taken a personal interest in his or her situation and not just your own. When you do this, God gives you the capacity to love that person beyond natural human ability. You cannot sincerely pray for a person and still harbor animosity for him. The truth is that you will experience a miracle because you will find yourself seeking to protect the blessing that you have selflessly prayed over him or her. Your “new” heart toward the person will begin to pursue the greater good.
2. God extends a promise when we obey this principle to bless our adversary; He will watchover and perform the promise. God is in the reconciliation and restoration business, and He is very good at it.
3. God will work behind the scene to arrange circumstances with your adversary (a) to see the truth, (b) to get a clear perspective without bias, (c) to see the larger picture, (d) if a Christian, to surrender to God’s call to put away contention and live peaceably. Just as you gained a change of heart by pursuing God’s Word when praying for a resolution to the impasse, you activate the power in God’s Law of Love to bring resolution. The spirit realm is “moved” to give your adversary an opportunity to “somehow” experience a change of heart just as you did.
Here are actual occurrences of how God fulfilled His promise when we act on His principles in His Word: In one instance a person prayed for an angry, vengeful neighbor; another example involved an out-of-control supervisor in the workplace. In each case, God honored His Word when the affected person “stepped into” and “lived out” God’s Law of Love, and prayed sincerely for the person and the situation. In each case, He moved mightily to resolve the conflict. By believing God’s Word and acting in faith, according to God’s directive to: “…love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” the two neighbors miraculously reconciled. And, similarly, after intense prayers of goodwill and blessing, the tyrannical supervisor was miraculously transferred three days later.
Jesus is telling us to do things God’s way… when we do, He meets our acts of faith with blessing and provision. I have heard many testimonies when a person acted in faith and “stepped out” on God’s Word to pray His blessings, peace and provision for an adversary. We must have the courage to obey God’s principles and do the opposite of what our natural mind wants us to do. In doing so, we are trusting God with our distresses and woundedness.
Putting it into Practice
It is important to take action when we hear or read the truth from God’s Word. When we fail to act on what we have heard, James 1:22-25 says that we are only deceiving ourselves.
Heavenly Father, You are amazing in Your love, mercy and grace. I give all my praise to You the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
LORD, thank You for meeting my every need. Thank You for loving me in the smallest details of my life so that nothing will keep me from perfect peace and joy in You. I ask You to help me to see my adversary through Your eyes. Your Word tells me to have faith so I can love ______ as You do. Help me to trust You enough to let go of my worldly perspective. Help me have Your perspective and understand that You have everything under control. You are more than able to bring justice to my circumstances. Help me to step-into and live-out Your Law of Love.
LORD, I forgive ______ and release (him or her) to You. I ask You to forgive me of my sin of unforgiveness. Please restore my relationship with You to the fullest measure. Allow me to walk in Your healing love for Your Word says that Your love covers a multitude of sin.
LORD, Your Word tells me to bless those who curse me. So now, in the name of Jesus and by His power, I ask You to bless ______ and bring peace, joy and prosperity to (his or her) life. Lord, capture ______’s heart and over-take (him or her) with Your blessing. Lord, I claim ______ for Your kingdom so that will experience Your Salvation and ever-lasting love. I ask You to pour out Your love, mercy and grace on ’s life. I declare that Satan will be put to shame because of my faith-filled prayer. What he had meant for evil will be turned against him, and You will be glorified.
I ask this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
1) Zoopoieo is a Greek word used in the New Testament that means: to cause to live, to make alive, to give life by spiritual power, to arouse and invigorate, to restore to life.
Excerpted and adapted from David McFadden’s “Deeper Life Series”.
For more articles from this series go to: https://www.deeperlifeseries.com/devotional-archive
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