Due to limited space, I cannot go into great detail concerning this matter but allow me to provide some brief thoughts on the subject. This really is a tough question in light of the persecution of Christians all over the world but particularly in the Middle East. I have been reading my Bible, reading other authors and praying, asking God for wisdom. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. So the question becomes, is it ever right and good to pray for judgment, calamity, or curse against one’s enemies, or the enemies of God? As we have been studying the book of Nehemiah together that question has come up on several occasions.

The verb, “imprecate” means “to pray evil against” or “to invoke curse upon.” Psalm 59:5 “ You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel. Want more daily devotionals, inspirational verses, and Bible reading plans? Just choose a plan and sign up for a free eBible account.William Ross, a doctoral candidate in Old Testament at the University of Cambridge, wrote an article on the Gospel Coalition Website called, “Should we pray the imprecatory Psalms?” It caught my attention. Make of us your good and courageous disciples of love to all we meet. We pray that you would give us the graces we need to: “Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12}. Lord, Hear our prayers for those who count themselves our enemies. Is there anything the world needs more? Is there anything more powerful than the love of God? He wants us to see all others through his eyes, so that we can do nothing less than love. He wants us to share so completely in his joy. God wants us to live in this way so that he can show himself, through us, to those who as yet do not know him. It is in and through that relationship that we see the wisdom of “loving our enemy and praying for those who persecute us.” God wants this for us. It is in prayer that we deepen our relationship with the one who is Love Eternal. It is through the reading of scripture and our daily prayer that we learn what God wants of us. Only through love are we able, with God’s grace, to turn an enemy into a friend.

No real justice was ever brought about by vengeance. No sincere and real conversion was ever won by violence or hatred. Worse yet, how often have we Christians failed to live in accord with this admonition among ourselves? Or in our own lives? Why do we keep making enemies of one another, and then rationalize harming one another, by words or deeds, even in the name of God? We must get on our knees every day and thank God for his great mercy, for he is willing to forgive even these great failings against his eternal law of love, if we turn back to him and depend on his great graces to help us love one another as he loved us.Īnd here is the real power behind his admonition it is through prayer that we gain both the wisdom to understand, and the courage to live out this call to love our enemies. His last words echoed those of Jesus on the cross: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60).Īnd here are the great questions before us every day of our lives: “Why do we not accept and practice these words like we do others in the gospel?” And, “What would the world be like if most of the Christians in the world believed and practiced this moral code given to us by Christ himself?” History is replete with the failure of Christians to follow these words. Think of Stephen as he is being stoned to death, with Saul standing by and watching, approving of it all. They did not strike back when they were struck, rather their love was so great that they were able to respond to the anger and hatred of their persecutors by forgiving them and praying for them. Though threatened with everything from jail, to torture, and even death, they simply kept on proclaiming the gospel. In an environment of extreme hostility and danger what did they do? They devoted themselves not to self-defense or vengeance, but to daily prayer and works of charity. Consider how extraordinary was the behavior we see in the first disciples.

Over the centuries since Jesus taught this, it has rarely been practiced so well, so completely, and so successfully as it was by the Apostles and the disciples in the early Church. Jesus’ teaching here completely overturns the Old Testament ideas of, “You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy” (verse 43), and “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:23-25). It is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and deals with the ages old idea of retaliation. This is one of the most challenging passages in the New Testament. “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Pray for your enemies