Prayer for July 15, 2021

Prayer for July 15, 2021: Please pray with me. God who calls on us to love our enemies, this command is difficult. You obviously have great faith in us and give us what we need to do this because we can’t do it on our own. We are too drawn to anger and fear. We are too addicted to self-righteousness and being right. We have made idols of our beliefs and being convinced that we are right and others are wrong and that they need to change. But you tell us to love our enemies. We are telling us to let go of the death grip we have on the separations we have created — the us and them. But Lord, we know they are up to something!!! But Lord, we know they are evil!!! But Lord, we know they are hell bent on destroying this nation, this party, this state, this community, this family, this business, this and that. We know they are the embodiment of evil. How egotistical are we that in these statements we assume that you are aligned with us and they we are innocent? How do we love our enemies Lord? How do we do what seems impossible? You give us everything we need to do this — if we only listen. Give us the courage to follow your call to love our enemies today. Amen.

Call to Action — What are our enemies intentions? How do we know? Did we hear from them directly, or are we making assumptions, listening to others who have a common enemy? What would be the most loving thing you can do for an enemy today? Maybe it’s listening to them and why they believe what they believe. Maybe it’s saying their name. Maybe it’s praying for an enemy — not to change them. But rather to pray for their best interest. Maybe it’s hearing their story for the first time. Maybe it’s intentionally seeing the image of God in them. What is God calling you to do today to love just one of your enemies? Now go and do that. No excuses. It’s part of your calling.

Originally published at https://pastormatthewbest.com on July 15, 2021.