When I Don't Want to Pray for Someone

Sometimes my feelings really get in the way of my faith.

God recently told me to pray for someone who I don’t want to pray for. Someone I am angry with. Someone who is hurting people I love. Someone who shows no remorse.

Let me rephrase that. : God recently told me to pray for someone who is broken. Someone who needs grace. Someone who needs Jesus.

Obedience Wins Me Over

It was HARD! After a long, prayerful temper tantrum, I obeyed … I prayed.

My first prayer was just a quick one-liner without much feeling, while inside I felt like a child being forced to apologize. The more I prayed, the more God gave me ways in which to pray for the person.

God has proven time and again that His plans are greater than my emotions. 

An obedient prayer life can soften our hearts. We can find grace and compassion that may not come naturally to us. It can also reveal areas where pride still holds a place in our hearts. 

We are called to reach the lost and the broken, not dictate who is worthy of prayer or salvation based on our personal feelings. Even if we don’t know someone, we can intercede for them.

 Who might you pray for today?

“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Matthew 5:44-48

~Serena Cahoon