Praying for Others Even When It’s Hard

One of the biggest issues our kids deal with as they grow is the divides in our country over politics, race, religion, and multiple other social issues. It’s already ugly out there. The next generation will need skills to bridge gaps and work with enemies. We must take up the challenge to teach them, though it’s definitely a difficult task for any of us to do.

And when we see our kids bullied or otherwise mistreated . . . well, we can lose all thought of being a good example. As we’ve often seen, a mother bear hath no fury like that of a mama to a wounded child!

But if we want our kids to change their world by loving others like Jesus, we must show them how. We need to be doing it ourselves.

But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong

Matthew 5:44-45 (CEV)

So, when your child comes home crying because someone took their backpack, you probably pray for God to comfort them, for the thief to be found out, and for the backpack to be returned. But do you pray for the thief's heart to be changed and their needs to be met?

When the news networks launch missiles at you of what the other political party is doing to “destroy” the country, do your kids hear you muttering prayers or curses for their leaders?

And when your spouse deploys, and you are praying with the kids for their safety, do you remember to pray for that country’s people, too?

It’s all so upside down from normal thinking. That’s Jesus’s kingdom for you. And to advance his kingdom, we need to ask him to help us love our enemies as he does.

Praying for our enemies relinquishes our control and builds our empathy. It reminds us of how we were Jesus’s enemies—very much in need of forgiveness. The bottom line is that praying for our enemies means obeying Jesus’s command.

PRAY

God, forgive me for not praying for my enemies. Thank you for loving me even when I was your enemy. Please help me teach my children to love even those who mistreat them. May they be a part of healing the many divides. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): What are things that we can pray for when an enemy causes us pain?

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand their Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

Proverbs 25:21-22

Matthew 5:9