Matthew 5:44-45 (NKJV) 44“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45“that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
As we study the weapons God has given us to resist the devil, we have been focusing on prayer. In truth, prayer is what makes all our weapons effective. Communication is the basis for any successful relationship and prayer is communication with our Father God. However, prayer is also a weapon because it brings the power of God into any circumstance. We can affect both the physical situation and the spiritual opposition through prayer. As we study prayer as Jesus prayed, we not only see the template he gave to his disciples for effective prayer, but we can also see it as Jesus applied prayer in his own life.
Today’s scripture is quoted from the middle of a teaching we call the sermon on the mount. There is a long list of things he tells his disciples that they need to do when someone wrongs them. We are talking about prayer, so verses 44 and 45 are the ones I want to focus on here. If Jesus taught his disciples to pray for those who spitefully use and persecute them, we can be sure that was the foundation of his prayer life as well. There is no greater example of this than the cross.
Luke 23:34 (NKJV) 34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.
Obviously, since Jesus was talking to the Father he was praying. I think it is safe to say that the soldiers had done him wrong. Why is this so important when we look at prayer, especially with the understanding that it is one of the weapons with which we resist the devil? I am sure we have heard people pray, and probably have prayed ourselves, something to the effect of, “Jesus, I pray that you will deal with that person who hurt me. He/she is a terrible person, and I pray you give me justice.”
That may not seem so bad on the surface, but when we pray that way, we are not praying for the person who has wronged us. We are praying our will and our hurt against that person. This does not usually seem wrong to us. We have been hurt and the other person may well be a bad or even evil person. However, the weapons of our warfare are never authorized for use against people. One reason why is in verse 45. If we put mercy at the heart of our prayer, we will be like our Father in heaven. He gives rain and sun to both the evil and the good. Why? Because he loves both the evil and the good. The most powerful weapon we have is the love of God. The devil has no defense against God’s love.
When we pray as Jesus prayed, incorporating the actions we see in Matthew 5:38-48, we apply a power that the devil cannot resist. It also brings a very positive pressure on the people who are causing us problems. They may not receive what is being offered, but because we show them the love of God, we give God an opportunity to deal with them. When we pray judgement on them, we are acting more like the one we need to resist and that is not the motivation that will release the power of God’s love on our real enemy, the devil.
When we choose to walk in love towards those who oppose us, the devil can try to deceive them and is often successful, but the love of God brings powerful pressure against the him that he has no real counter against. This love also provides a lifeline to the people he is using.
This is often hard for us because we know that, according to pure justice, the things that are happening to us are not right. However, when we choose the love of God instead of a natural reaction, we are putting our situation in the realm of the supernatural where our weapons empowered by our God can never fail. Either the person will change and perhaps come into the same relationship with God in Christ that we enjoy, or God will resolve the situation for our good. This may take some time, but it will happen if we continue in the love of God.
We must understand that taking this route may require some time. God will work on the person and on our situation, but the only timetable we can depend on is that God will make sure our situation ends up in the best outcome for us. That is why Jesus says we must pray for those who despitefully use us and even persecute us. The operative term is to pray for them. In other parts of this teaching, he tells us to forgive, do good and even go the extra mile to both help them and give them beyond what they take by force. None of this makes sense to our natural mind nor our sense of Justice. However, this kind of praying unlocks something for which the devil has no key.
If prayer is going to be an effective weapon in resisting the devil, it must be motivated by love. This will never be possible if we try to love with natural love, but if we choose to love with God’s love, he will help us. The actions described in this section of scripture must often be done when our emotions want us to do something very different. If we obey the Word of God instead of our emotions, we can be absolutely certain that God will be at work in the situation. He will deal with the people but far more important he will deal with the power behind the person who opposes you, the devil. In the end it will work out for you. We must trust and believe that to be true. Praying for them will help us do that.
What does it mean to pray for those who use and persecute us? Maybe it is easier for us to think about what it does not mean. We are not praying for someone when we ask God to judge them. We are not praying for them when we remind God that we are his Children and the people that are hurting us may need to be hurt themselves. We are praying for them when we ask God to bless them. We are praying for them when we ask God to open their eyes to his love. We are praying for them when we come against the devil’s influence in their lives, not so ours will be easier but so they can be healed. Sometimes people treat us badly because of the things in their own lives. If we bring healing, it will change their attitude toward us and toward God. \
There is an example of this in Acts 4:29. They are praying because Peter and some of the others had been arrested by the Jewish council and threatened not to preach in the name of Jesus. For good measure they were beaten. They began by pointing out what was done, not to them but to Jesus. Look at how they ended their prayer.
Acts 4:29-31 (NKJV) 29“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30“by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
They did not ask God to destroy the council or repay them for what they had done to the disciples. They prayed for boldness to preach Jesus—not by stretching out His hand against the council, but by stretching out His hand to heal and perform signs and wonders for the people, including the members of the council.
This is what it means to pray as Jesus prayed and the result was a great wave of healing and miracles that brought many people into the Kingdom of God. Let us pray as Jesus prayed with the motivation of mercy and the love of God. Leave the judgement with the Lord. He is able to both judge what needs to be judged and work on our behalf at the same time.
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