When Jesus said for us to love our enemies and “pray for those who persecute you” in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5:44), it was an extension of his treatment of the Law – namely the Sixth Command: do not murder. Murdering is done not merely by the physical act but by the attitude of the heart, namely, hate.
Hate is something some of us are not willing to admit to. Like Jealousy, the sin no one talks about; or pride, the sin that no one admits to, so too hate. It is demeaning to hate; we all like to feel it is what “others” do – never us!
How do you know you have not given into hate? How can you be sure you are not a hater? You say: “I’m not a racist”. “I am not homophobic”. Good. But how can you sure? I reply: when you pray for that person to be blessed. Not when you say, “Lord, I commit them to you” – which lets you off the hook. When you say, “I commit them to you”, you have left the door open that, just maybe, God will visit them in vengeance; that God will punish them for you. So never think you are praying for your enemy when you say, “Lord, I commit them to you”.
Here is how you are to pray for your enemy: “Lord, I sincerely ask you to bless them”. Or, “I ask that they don’t get punished – or found out”. You may say to me: “R T you are crazy”. No, I’m not crazy; I am obeying Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. You may ask, “But why? What’s in it for you if you pray that your enemy will be blessed and let off the hook?” I reply: a lot. In a word: I inherit the kingdom of heaven – the highest spiritual achievement this side of the Judgment Seat of Christ. Not only that; I know I have God’s approval. His approval means more to me than seeing my enemy punished. I choose to have the approval of God than vengeance on my enemy.
And there is one more fringe benefit (if I may put it that way): more anointing. Yes. More anointing meaning insight and an ability to understand the Bible. People ask me, “How can you write all those books?” They seem to think it is my brain or education. No. It is one thing: the anointing. It can be traced directly to taking Jesus’ words seriously – to pray that my enemy will be blessed. When Jesus said “blessed” are we who are persecuted, he was guaranteeing a great reward indeed – that is, if we respond to persecution by blessing our enemy not cursing them.
Therefore it eventually comes down to this (strange as this may seem): praying for your enemy becomes a selfish thing. The more persecution, the greater anointing – on the condition I bless them. Highly recommended: an enemies’ prayer list!
RT
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