Praying for your enemies makes a difference because the Lord wants to transform both you and them. When we pray for others, we begin to see them in a different light. The Lord desires that people live in peace with one another, and prayer can be a step in that process.
During the cold war, the Soviets erected the Berlin wall in the early sixties, but a powerful prayer movement caused it to come down in the eighties. Thousands gathered to pray for their enemy, and something unexpected happened. The opposing military was prepared and ready to act against the prayer warriors, but nothing happened.
Horst Sindermann, a member of the governing clique, said later, “We had planned everything. We were prepared for everything. Everything except candles and prayers.”[1] The power of prayers and seeing people gathered for prayer can affect the most hardened hearts.
Pray for Your Enemies
Because of their sin, thousands of Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon. But the Lord had not forgotten about them. The Israelites would be in Babylon for seventy years. During this time, the Lord wanted them to be light in their dark world, so He gave them a special assignment.
Jeremiah 29:7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare. [2] As the Israelites prayed for Babylonians, their lives would improve as they impacted their community. The Lord wanted to bless the people of Babylon, and He would work through the prayer of the Israelites to do that. James tells how each believer’s prayer is powerful and significant. James 5:16 The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.[3]
Your Prayers Make a Difference
Sometimes we don’t realize the power of prayer by one person and how much difference it can make. The world is a better place each time someone prays for another person. As we pray for our enemies, hostile thoughts toward them vanish. It is hard to hate people that you are praying for God to bless them.
When we pray, we reach out in faith and ask the Lord to touch lives, cities, and nations. The Lord answers in fantastic ways as we exercise our authority in prayer. What is astounding is that God uses His people’s prayers to accomplish His plans. The Lord does not need our help but uses our prayers to teach us humility, dependence, and trust in Him. God uses our prayer time to build our relationship with Him. Our praises, thanks, and confessions make a difference in our spiritual journey.
To learn more about praying for your enemies, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/journey-exiled
[1][1] https://baptistbulletin.org/the-baptist-bulletin-magazine/gods-hand-in-history/
[2-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.