In a previous article, I strove to answer whether we can pray imprecatory prayers (cursing prayers) and still love our enemies. Using Scripture, I emphasised that loving enemies and seeking justice–the point of imprecatory prayers–go hand in hand, but only in Christ. This made me wonder how we can actually care for our enemies in a positive way.
To be clear, even though we’ll be using the term ‘enemies’ here, we must remember that as Christians, we are called to have no earthly enemies. Borrowing from the previous article, we are called to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44). Scripture encourages us to pray for our enemies with the same care God has for them. Therefore, for the Christian, an enemy is only an enemy because they hate us and not because we hate them (Luke 6:22, 26). Christians are only to hate sin, evil, the flesh, the world, and the devil. We are to be those who seek the good of our enemies, even if they continue to hate us.
Pray for Their Salvation
In the previous article, I mentioned the need to pray for the salvation of our enemies. The gospel call isn’t just for those we hold dear and care for; it is especially needed by those who have wronged us, because no one is beyond our Savior’s reach.
An obvious example is Paul, formerly Saul, the sworn enemy of Christians. As he said of himself in 1 Timothy 1:13, he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. He was so far off that even when he got saved, many Christians had a hard time believing it due to his enmity with God’s people (Acts 9:19-26). For them, it didn’t make any sense that the man who hated the Church so naturally that it was indirectly compared with breathing (Acts 9:1) was now one of them.
Since none is beyond the gospel call, it isn’t for us to damn our enemies to eternal condemnation as though the destinies of their souls were in our hands. We are to be those who go out of our way to seek and pray for their salvation. We should pray that God may remove their heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. Our prayer should be that God would turn their zeal for hating God and us into a zeal for sharing and living out the gospel, as Paul did.
Pray for Their Blessing
As Christians, we must bless our enemies (Romans 12:14, Luke 6:28). Yes, they may be outrightly persecuting us, but we should actively desire and pray that the Lord bless them. After all, aren’t we who were once enemies of God now the greatest beneficiaries of his blessing? Angels whose sole existence is to behold God in his majesty don’t get this blessing. They long to see it, but the closest they can come to it is serving those saved (Hebrews 1:14). Yet we, who were subject to his wrath, were offered this blessing of salvation through Jesus Christ. To bring us this blessing, Jesus had to die a most humiliating death, killed by those he came to save (Romans 5:8). His sacrifice now guarantees our heavenly inheritance and reconciliation to God (Romans 5:2, 10-11).
If the Son of God had to die in order for us to be blessed in this way, then we also must readily pray for the blessing of those who hate and persecute us. We are to pray for their good in every circumstance. Just as God is gracious and kind enough to allow rain to water both our crops and theirs, and the sun to shine on us all, we should also freely pray for the blessing of our enemies.
Pray for the Forgiveness of Their Sins
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). These are the words of our Savior praying for those who were mocking him as he was being crucified. Think about that: Christ is on the cross for no wrong that he committed, praying that those who wronged him may be forgiven even if they don’t deserve it. How quick are we to pray in such a manner for those who wrong us? Or do we immediately jump on the bandwagon of imprecatory prayers? While our desire for justice may be good and right, it shouldn’t be the only thing we desire. We should also pray for their forgiveness. Jesus essentially said there shouldn’t be a limit to our forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-22). We should be those who unflinchingly pray for the forgiveness of our enemies as our Savior did.
Pray for Our Hearts to Be Softened for Their Good
Finally, we should pray for our hearts always to desire the good of our enemies. We should pray for the ease to go out of our way to be at peace with them. We should pray for a heart to bless them, even though they persecute us vehemently. We should also ask for a desire to forgive them if they were to stand before us. We should also pray for a desire to love them wholeheartedly. Ultimately, we should also pray that, despite their hatred, abuse, and persecution, we may remain bold enough to proclaim the gospel of God. That for us, when opportunity presents itself, we may always be those who joyfully present Christ Jesus as their only hope. Will they respond in kind? Probably not! Nevertheless, our job remains to always seek their good for God’s glory and for the good of our souls.