Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44
This is not an easy verse, but then, if we only live our Christian lives through the verses that we like, can we honestly say we are walking in the fullness of Christ? We do not demonstrate our faith through the easy times; we demonstrate our faith through the hard and challenging times.
One of the challenges that comes to each of us is when someone hurts us, betrays us or wrongs us in some way. What can be even more challenging is when the wrong is done to someone you love, which is something I personally struggled with for years.
We all react in different ways to this and talking to God about it may not be the first thing on your list. Eventually though, we bring our anger, our hurt, even our tears to God, but instead of handing out divine retribution, he gives us a command – pray for the one who has caused you distress. Pray for them? Really? I don’t want to pray for them, I want to tell everyone what kind of person they really are! I want everyone to know what they did! I certainly don’t want to show them love. Yet, that is exactly what God wants, and expects, of me if I am living in the attitude of Christ.
The Lord Jesus chose to love us even though we sinned (and continue to sin) against him. He granted us mercy; he poured out his grace and he forgave us. He prayed for his enemies and for those who persecuted him.
“But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Romans 5:20
It is not an easy thing to pray for someone that has caused you hurt or pain, and the first time that you do it, it will feel extremely uncomfortable. It may take a long time to turn anger into grace, but if you keep praying, you will feel the shift in your spirit and in your heart. Prayer may not always change the other person, but it will always change you.
When the challenge comes, allow the Spirit of God to help you move forward in grace, instead of anger.
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