Praying for My Enemies - Part 2

When I decided to undertake the spiritual exercise 10 People to Pray for to Start Changing the Word, prepared by my friend John Lamoreau, I really didn’t think it would be all that difficult. After all, I think I’m a pretty nice person. And I don’t really have any “enemies.”

But John’s list was disturbingly practical – pray for the family member who bugs you the most, your most obnoxious co-worker, the most abrasive person in your church. And the guidelines said to not pray for these people to change in the way I want them to, but to pray for God to bless and guide them.

This exercise turned out to be more difficult than I thought. The list also included the politician you most dislike and the most evil person in the world who comes to mind. But it was actually harder to pray for the people in my own life that I struggle with, than it was to pray for a nasty dictator! Some of the prayers were said through clenched teeth.

Praying for My Enemies

On his new website The Jesus Gospel, my friend John Lamoreau lists 10 People to Pray for to Start Changing the World. John invites those of us who follow the Way of Jesus to join him in praying for our enemies each day for one week.

I’ve printed out John’s list and I’m going to start my week of prayer tomorrow morning. I’ll report back on how it goes…