Hello my fellow lemon8ers 🤓👋
Praying for your loved ones is a very easy thing to do. Who wouldn’t ask God almighty to send His protection & love over our family & friends. What about your enemy? Are you able to put your feelings of hurt or resentment aside & ask our Father in heaven to comfort & peace to the one you call enemy?
Following Jesus Christ is about not only believing that He is Son of God & He was crucified for our sins so that me may have a relationship with Our Father in Heaven. It’s also learning to love like Jesus did. Showing that same love mercy & grace we are shown to others.
For the longest time my mothers side of the family have been at each others throats! Always fighting with one another up until the day my mom was called home by God. My parents adopted one of my mother’s sister’s children who was just born a methadone baby brought him home from the hospital. After the State of Texas showed up asking if my parents would be interested in adopting the other children who were already in the state system. My parents agreed & said yes to take in all the children. What should have been gratitude was bitterness & anger. Over the years of arguments and disrespectful comments made by my mothers sister I my self grew resentment & hate for my mothers sister.
throughout this healing journey with Jesus ive learned I should pray for not only her but anyone who prosecutes or aims to argue or fight with me. I don’t know their hurts or issues. So I should pray for this individual. Prayer is very powerful….that one conversation with Our Father can move mountains. within this prayer I stay asking God for forgiveness for myself as well as for them. I ask Hod to help me understand why they are the way they are. I have tried time and time again to show love and mercy but everything still ends up in a drama or fight. So now it’s best to let go and let God work his love on His creation. I’ve seen the Spirit change my own heart ♥️ & continuously asking that God puts Jesus in her heart. I can’t tell it all but it’s a good start.
When I first encountered Matthew 5:43, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,' it sounded powerful, but honestly, pretty impossible. I mean, how do you genuinely love someone who has caused you significant pain or continuously disrespects you? My own experience with family conflict made this verse feel like a monumental challenge, not a comforting command. One thing I've learned on this journey is that 'loving your enemy' doesn't mean you have to like them, approve of their actions, or even maintain a close relationship with them. It’s not about enabling harmful behavior. For me, it became about choosing to let go of bitterness for *my own peace*, and inviting God into that space. It's about recognizing their humanity, just as Jesus did, even when their actions are anything but humane. So, how do you actually do it? I found that starting with prayer was the most accessible step. When I couldn't bring myself to feel anything positive towards someone, I'd simply pray for God to bless them, to reveal His love to them, and to heal whatever pain might be driving their own harmful actions. It felt awkward at first, like I was faking it. But over time, something shifted within me. The act of praying, even when my heart wasn't fully in it, began to soften the hard edges of my resentment. As the OCR reminds us from Matthew 5:43-44 NLT, it explicitly states, 'Pray for those who persecute you!' – it's a direct command with a profound purpose. Another aspect of 'loving your enemies' is releasing the need for revenge or vindication. This doesn't mean becoming a doormat. It means trusting that there's a higher justice, and you don't have to carry the burden of evening the score. It’s about setting boundaries for your own mental and emotional health, while still holding a posture of prayer, rather than hatred, in your heart. I also realized that prayer for an 'enemy' often begins with prayer for myself. Asking God to help me understand their perspective, to grant me empathy, or simply to take away my anger. It’s a process, not a one-time decision. Some days are harder than others. But the incredible byproduct of this practice is an internal peace that I never thought possible. Holding onto grudges felt like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick. Letting go, even through the difficult act of praying for someone who hurt me, was truly liberating. It’s a powerful testament to the transformative power of faith and the wisdom embedded in teachings like Matthew 5:43-44. It’s not just a religious ideal; it’s a pathway to inner freedom and emotional healing. My experience has shown me that this seemingly impossible command is actually a profound gift for our own well-being.
