Matthew 5:44 "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
There are certain mysteries of the Christian faith, certain grey areas that we either have no answer for, or we don't know how they completely work. Prayer is perhaps the greatest one of those mysteries. At times, we just need to accept that we won't understand everything about prayer, and exactly how it works. It's one of those faith parts of our religion. Still, the Bible does provide some needed lessons that we can use to understand parts of prayer.
The one that I've been focused on recently is this idea of praying for other people. I think a lot of times we fall into the trap and merely praying for ourselves or our families, rather than the people that are around us. Now that doesn't mean we don't care, or that we don't think about other people's needs, or even that we don't actively try to help those people. But if you're not praying for other people before yourself, that's a pretty good indicator that you're probably not as focused on the people around you as you should be.
I recently preached a sermon that contained Matthew 5:44 in it, which unpacks this idea. There's a few things to notice from the verse. First, notice how there's really two different sections to the passage that are tied together. First, there's this idea of loving your enemies. We'll leave that for another day, but notice the second idea, pray for those who persecute you. Jesus doesn't just put these two together for no reason at all. There's the connection between enemies and those who persecute you. That makes sense. But if those are connected, then love and prayer must be connected.
When I prepare for a sermon, I like to read different versions of the same passage in different Bibles. The one that jumped out at me this time was from a NIV Study Bible. In the commentary notes below for this verse, it said this; "Prayer is one of the most practical ways that we can express love for others." I had to chew on that a little bit to try to understand what the commentator was trying to say. It's a pretty hefty statement, and I think I've only started to understand part of it.
It all goes back to my previous thoughts about praying for other people. First, it shows that you are putting others before yourself. That's love right there. If you truly care about someone else, to the point where you automatically think about their hurts and needs before your own, you are truly showing the love of Christ. Second, praying for others shows love because it shows that you want God to get involved in that person's life. You recognize the need, and you recognize God's power. You are just putting the two together, and asking for God to intervene in that person's life. The greatest thing that can be done in a person's life has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with God.
So, start praying for others. And not just anyone, but everyone. And that includes your enemies and those who persecute you. But you don't have to start there. Build your way up by integrating this spirit of love into your life by starting to pray for those around you. Eventually this will become like a second nature to you, something you just automatically do.
