“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy; But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” – Matthew 5:43-44 (AMP)

Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, was one of the seven deacons that were commissioned in Acts 6 by the Apostles for the purpose of overseeing the distribution of food and other relieve materials to the church. He preached the Gospel and lived by the Spirit in his daily dealings. God wrought great wonders through him even as he preached to the Jews. The messages that he preached brought controversy and persecution.

After defending himself in most of the verses in Acts 7, he was stoned to death by those who stood against him and the words he spoke in his defence. But before he died, he practiced what Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 – he prayed for those who stoned him to death – “Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Master, don’t blame them for this sin”—his last words..” (MSB) What an example of what it means to be a disciple of Christ!

Dear Believer, the world hates disciples of Christ but Christ charges you to not hate them in return, though you have to hate there evil works, but to love and pray for them.

This is a very hard message to preach in church today. There was one young brother in the faith whom I knew a couple of years ago, being a student of the seminary and he was assigned to lead prayers for some minutes. Everybody was expecting that this brother would focus on some other powerful and important prayers needed to prepare for the work ahead but he didn’t even go there. His focus was this teaching of Jesus. He led us to pray for our enemies and everyone was amazed!

Many people gave logical reasons why that prayer wasn’t valid but logic cannot explain the Word of God accurately. There are people you know that hate, dislike or antagonize you, the normal response is to hate and curse them but the command of Jesus is to pray for people like this.

Your prayer, if it won’t save them, might set the work in motion for their salvation, just like the prayer of Stephen is believed to have done for Saul, who was present while he was killed, but was later converted after he had an encounter with Christ.

The reason many are against you is because you fail to compromise your stand in Christ, then you mi ust pray for them to be saved and receive mercy. And as you pray, God works in ways that will bring them to see the light. One of the reasons we still have many unbelievers today despite the number of Christians is that we have failed many times to intercede on behalf of those who position themselves as enemies to us.

A mistake that is usually made is that you attack the person in prayer, whereas the person is controlled by a spirit and that should be the focus of our attacks but we must show love to those who hate us. If we do in return what they have done to us, they we are no more different than them. Whoever it is that you perceive as an enemy to you, pray such persons and let God work in their lives the way He wants to. Blessings.

Practical Application: Have you ever prayed in a positive way for your known enemies? How do you see that kind of instruction?

Confession: The fruit of Love is manifested in me. I see who I am through the lens of the Word. I am beloved of God and I express love towards all around me. I bless, I do not curse.

Related Scripture: Matthew 5:43-46

Bible Reading: Matthew 7