I spend the majority of my early morning drives in quiet. I use that time to think, pray and listen to the rest of the world be quiet around me. It’s one of the few times it feels like there is stillness in the air.
This morning while I was thinking and praying, I had a thought to pray for an enemy in my life, and immediately following that, an audible ‘nope’ came out of my mouth. I had a physical, negative reaction to the idea of praying for an enemy. After a few moments, it hit me - how sad is it that I have that sort of reaction to doing something that Jesus asks us to do?
To be honest, I’d never had the idea to pray for this enemy before, so I certainly felt caught off guard. But I also don’t know that I’ve spent much time praying for any of my enemies at all. I was convicted.
This morning’s prayer was possibly one of the hardest prayers I’ve ever had to pray. It felt uncomfortable in the moment, and for most of it, I was at a loss of even what to pray. But at the end, I felt relief, some healing and some peace with overcoming my ‘nope’ moment. It wasn’t a shining example of who we are called to be as followers of Christ, but it was pointing to a question: How often do I pray for my enemies, rather than just against them?
-Cliff
Cliff’s Note: My enemies need prayer, and so do I.