Pray…..but for Whom?

As Christians we are told…….we are expected…….to pray. We pray prayers of praise. We pray prayers of petition. It is not surprising that the bulk of our prayers of petition are for the benefit of ourselves, our family, and our friends. This is human nature. Put out the fire that is closest to you…….then worry about the fire that is further away.

In my Bible reading today, we are taught to pray for kings. There aren’t a lot of kings around today. They have been replaced by presidents, prime ministers, senators, and representatives. I think that it is fair to conclude that we are expected to pray for the political leaders in our world. This is where it gets sticky.

Some of the world’s leaders agree with me….with you…..with us. Some of the world’s leaders disagree with me….with you….with us. Some of the leaders in the political realm are good……some are simply evil. Most of them……like us…..fall somewhere in between. Current political thought is that we should hate the leaders who disagree with us. We are taught by our leaders to demonize anyone who disagrees with them. Donald Trump recently gave a speech where he proudly said that he hates his opponents. The leadership of the left casually throws out terms like Nazi and Fascist. I hear talk like this every day from people who tell me they are Christians.

But, “hate your opponent” and “slander your enemy” are not what the Bible teaches. That is not what Jesus taught. Both Trump and the left, while many of them identify as Christians, have clearly missed the point.

Jesus and the Bible are crystal clear on this topic.

We are told in no uncertain terms to pray for the leaders of governments. We are told in no uncertain terms to pray for our enemies.

Christian conservatives are told in no uncertain terms to pray for:

 AOC
 Schumer 
 Maxine Waters
 CNN

Christian liberals are told in no uncertain terms to pray for:

 Trump
 JD Vance
 Charlie Kirk
 Fox

Both parties are told to pray for:

 Putin
 Xi
 Hamas
 Netanyahu 

I think that you get the point. But, how do we pray for people with whom we disagree? How do we pray for people who are evil?

We can pray for wisdom.
We can pray that they will turn to Jesus.
We can pray for repentance and healing.

In short…….we can pray that they will hear Jesus……and respond.

We can pray that they will turn to God and align themselves with him……..not with us…….not with our favorite politician “du jour”.

Can you imagine a world where all of the “kings” consistently followed Jesus?

Instead of you and me.

That’s a prayer worth praying.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers,[a] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus in Matthew. 5: 43-48, ESV