Prayers for the Week: Love Your Enemy

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. ~ Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)

Hello my friends, and welcome to this week’s prayers for the week post.  As we continue our look at looking beyond ourself, today we take a look at focusing on loving on those that absolutely hate us — our enemies.  Perhaps one of the hardest lessons to learn, Jesus tells us in the Scripture above that we absolutely have to love our enemies. Why is this, do you think?  Well, quite simply, it’s because it’s easy to love those that you love, and by doing so, you are not doing anything beyond what is expected.  However, when you take the time to love those that persecute you, and abuse you, and take advantage of you, well, when that happens, your Father in Heaven will love you all the more because of it.

I don’t know a person that has never been in a situation like that.  In fact, a case could be made that we are in a situation where we have to choose to love those that harm us each and every day.  Please take a moment and think about those that have done you wrong.  It’s very hard to love those that do wrong to you, and love and forgiveness go hand in hand in things like this.  Just as it’s hard to love your enemy, it’s often very hard to forgive your enemy.  I know in my past, I find myself having to re-forgive those that harmed me and my family each and every day.  It’s almost like I forgive them and turn that over to God, only to see myself snatching it back from Him, holding onto that anger and bitterness time and time again.  In cases like this, do you know who is suffering?  I am, and you are too if you find yourself doing the same sort of thing.

So remember the words of Jesus: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

It’s a hard thing, forgiveness and love towards those that would do us wrong.  But it’s an important thing, and something that will gain you far greater reward from our Heavenly Father when we are called home then the satisfaction we feel from holding onto that anger.  Now, please pray with us for our prayer requests and praises.

Prayer Requests and Praises

• First up, a serious prayer request from my brother-in-Christ Todd: Dear Prayer Warriors,My Family is in desperate need of Gods Glory. My beautiful wife is the bread winner of our family while I stay home and take care of our two awesome children. My Wife just recently lost her job and has been applying for jobs everywhere and so have I. She has had very promising interviews with a potential employer in Texas. We have not heard back yet. We believe it’s because of the Holidays. But we need Prayer. We need this job to materialize because by the end of January we will be homeless with no food either. Please pray for us to get this job in Texas.Thank you and God Bless you
  Todd
  • If anyone knows of any other opportunities that may be good for Todd and his wife, please feel free to email them to my email address and I’ll send them along to him.  My email address is mickey@mydreamsofdisney.com.  Thanks!
• Please pray for the son of my friend Julia — her son Herman is having leg surgery. Please pray for his recovery and for complete healing for him. Thanks!
  • Praise God, the surgery went well, and Herman is recovering at home!
• Please pray for my friend Amanda who recently lost a close friend: One of my best friends died today… I am at a loss for words… miss you buddy. Rest In Peace because you damn well deserve to… for real. You finally have peace. Just know that we loved you…
• Prayers please for the family of my friend Will. Will’s Uncle passed away — it’s his Mom’s youngest brother. Prayers for Peace, Comfort, and Strength, as well as for his uncle’s salvation, which is unknown to me but known to God.
• Prayer chain from Mrs. Lucas: We are starting a prayer chain. We are going to pray for all of the personnel fighting the wildfires, the people who have lost their homes, and for rain.
• A special prayer request for Karen, who is a member of my church. She is battling terminal cancer. Please pray for her and her family that includes young children. I would guess that she is still in her 30s.
• Prayers for my friend Shannan’s back, that it would heal up and not bother her anymore.
• Frances’ prayer request: My inflamation to subside enough that they can conduct the tests needed to figure out what is going on with my body.
• Amanda’s prayer request: Daniel has a scan coming up sometime in the next few weeks. Please pray for progress and preferably a result of no evidence of disease. Thanks!
• My friend Jeff has a prayer request: Would like to ask for prayers for my friend Marie. Her father is battling cancer and had his first treatment on Thursday. Not the best way to spend Thanksgiving.
  • Please pray for God’s Healing, as well as God’s Peace, Comfort, and Strength to fall upon them all.  Also pray for the doctors treating him that God would touch them and work through them. Thanks!
• My niece Leslie has a prayer request: Kennedy has a wicked cough, and Paisley has gotten sick twice today. Pray for good health and SLEEP.

As always, please leave your prayer requests in the comments, or join our new Facebook Group and add them to our group there!  Now, please pray with me the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those that trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever. Amen.