5 Things "Loving Your Enemies" Has Taught Me

"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, 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." -Matthew 5:43-48

Sometimes in life we forget that we have an enemy. We forget that we are constantly in a spiritual war. It's easy to fix our eyes on the physical problems we see in life whether it's in our families, at church, in our finances, in our health, etc. It's so easy to get overwhelmed by daily life when things aren't going the way we expect or hope. So often we get so consumed and distracted by what is swirling around us that we're caught up in trying to make sense of it all. We desperately search for our own solutions, forgetting that there is an enemy of our souls.

• Accusations

• Betrayal

• Rejection

• Abuse

• Bitterness

• Abandonment

• Trauma

• Hatred

• Unforgiveness

• Fear

  
  

And so on and so forth are all things that Satan uses in our lives and in the lives of those around us to stop, delay, and steal our hope, joy, peace, and sometimes even our life.

John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

The enemy of our souls will do anything to steal, kill, and destroy our identities in Christ and the abundant life that He came to give us. Satan will use our own mindsets and beliefs against us. He'll use family, friends, and strangers. He'll use hardship, persecution, sickness, and pain.

So how do we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us?

As I have walked through this process with the Lord I have been taught so much about the importance of praying for my enemies. Here are 5 Things "Loving Your Enemies" Has Taught Me through this difficult season of life...

1. Praying for my enemies has exposed the darkness in my own heart.

   
   

   Whether it's a situation that's out of our control, a feeling, trauma, or grief when we begin to align ourselves with God in such a way where we're able to pray for our enemies we quickly realize that before God ever deals with our enemies He first deals with our own hearts. He shines the light not on the pain, damage, or weapon that the enemy is forging against us but on the wounds of our own soul that need deep healing. Before I ever can pray for my enemies and those who persecute me I must be able to be in alignment with God. This means I must repent and get my own heart right with Jesus.

   
   

   The enemy wants nothing more than for unforigiveness, bitterness, envy, hatred, rejection, etc to take root in our hearts. If I allow those feelings to take root it opens the door for every arrow of persecution to take me down because my heart is out of alignment with God. If I repent and allow the Holy Spirit to come in and heal the broken places of my soul then and only then will I be able to move forward in victory knowing that I am aligned with my Father in heaven and He will defend me and fight for me. He will cause no weapon to prosper. It is so painful to allow God to expose our own hearts, but it's here in this place of repentance where healing, joy, freedom, and peace wash over us in such a way that removes all power from the enemy.

2. Praying for my enemies has cultivated a deep and growing place of warring prayer and intercession in my own life.

   
   

   When God shows us what is going on behind the scenes in spiritual warfare we realize that, "We don't wrestle with flesh and blood, but with the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

   
   

   This is so important to remember when praying for our enemies. Usually the people that hurt us are simply just hurting and broken themselves. They have opened up doors to the enemy that they refuse to allow God to expose and heal. Is this always the case? No, but I'm sure if you looked around at your enemies right now that you could begin to see why they are acting the way they are. When we step into our rightful place of intercession and have removed our own personal feelings then we can see the person or situation the way Jesus does. We can stand with the full armor of God on knowing that we are in alignment and seeing God rightly.

   
   

   When we are positioned correctly in the Kingdom then we can see past the current situations that are causing us pain and see what God is actually doing in the situation. We can ask the Holy Spirit exactly what we need to pray and more times than not He will show us the ways that the enemy is lying, manipulating, and abusing the person or situation that is hurting us. From this place we can then stand with what God is declaring over them or the situation and pray for their purpose and destiny to be brought back into alignment so that salvation, deliverance, and freedom can be restored to them.

   
   

   What glorifies God in this situation? Restoration of ALL things! What if you are the only person interceding for this person to be restored back to the Father? What if your enemies could be set free and then go proclaim the gospel to the nations? Could you forgive in such a way that justice to your situation could be your enemies turning from Saul to Paul? We're not fighting against flesh and blood. Our enemy is Satan and all the powers of darkness. It's not your abuser. It's not everyone spreading lies and accusations.

   Victory is won. The blood of Jesus allows us to pray for those who persecute us because we refuse to allow any schemes of the enemy to prosper.

   
   

   I want the body of Christ walking in the fullness of the Spirit and walking in their full God-given identities and purposes. That is what brings God glory.

3. Praying for my enemies has allowed me to see them the way Jesus does.

   
   

   Jesus always knew it was Judas that was going to betray Him. Yet, the disciples had no idea it was him. Why? Because Jesus saw Judas through the eyes of His Father. Judas' betrayal didn't cause Jesus to treat him differently it caused Jesus to pray for God's will to be done. It caused Him to lay down His own desires so that the plan and purposes of God could be brought forth. Praying for our enemies removes our will so that we can align with the Father to pray His will no matter the cost and no matter how much it hurts. We can rest in knowing that we are held through every situation and we can choose to love through the Truth of God's Word and by continuing to pursue righteousness and not be moved by the world. If we allow the arrows of the enemy to change the way that we think, act, or live then we give victory to the enemy. If we allow the arrows of the enemy to move us into a place of prayer and intercession then we stand in agreement that Jesus has already won and the victory is His.

4. Praying for my enemies reveals the plan and purposes of Satan.

   
   

   It is often said that you can see where God wants to bless you and increase you by looking at the places that the enemy is coming at you the hardest. In my own experience it has not only opened my eyes to where I have laid down my prayers personally, but also my prayers for the nations. We forget so easily that what God is doing is so much bigger than our own lives, our families, and our communities. We forget that God is doing something incredible in the nations throughout the body of Christ that is preparing the way for His return. When I step into the place of prayer for my enemies I can then also step into the place of intercession for the body of Christ. God operates in times and seasons and if one of us are going through something you can be sure that you are not alone. The greatest attacks from our enemies show us exactly where we need to stand, pray, and go to war in the spirit.

5. Praying for my enemies creates a capacity in my soul to receive joy, peace, hope, and abundant life.

When we pray for our enemies not only do we remove the burdens we've been carrying through repentance, but we also release our enemies from the hold we've had on them. We then can enter into praise and thanksgiving for what God is doing in our lives. We can get excited for what He is doing in the nations and the Church. We can now hold feelings of joy, peace, hope, and truly receive and walk in the abundant life Jesus died and rose again for ` because we know that God is faithful and that His steadfast love endures forever. When we pray for our enemies we're aligning our hearts with the Father which allows us to enter into our rightful place as sons and daughters. In this place no weapon of the enemy can prosper.

You may be saying, "I'm so angry and so hurt I couldn't possibly pray God's will for my enemies." Just like anything in life there is a process. God is so kind and patient with us. He never rushes us, yet at the same time He's ready for you to walk into this place of freedom.

So where do we start?

1. Repent & Align yourself in God's Word

2. As your emotions start to come to the surface take them straight to the feet of Jesus and ask Him to heal you.

3. Take communion every day it is our protective shield.

4. Set healthy boundaries to protect your heart from the weapons forged against you so that you can stay in alignment and walk in righteousness.

5. Ask the Holy Spirit what to pray over your enemies and be obedient.

6. Pray for them everyday until you start seeing their God-given purpose in the earth. You are now assigned as their main intercessor. Choose to enter into the war and fight on your knees for the purposes of God to be established in the earth.

7. Worship and rejoice knowing that God is not only delivering and defending you, but His plan and purposes are also being done in the lives of your enemies as your intercession shifts the atmosphere.

8. Receive the abundant life that God has for you. Do not let anything take you out of alignment with the Father. Do not let anything silence your voice. Do not let anything stop you from living out your full purpose and destiny. Keep your armor on and when you've done all you can do then stand and praise knowing that victory is His!

Stay on each step until you're ready to walk through the process. If it takes you three months to repent and align your heart with God's heart then stay in that place. Don't go to war against the enemy until your heart is correctly aligned with His.

Be encouraged that if you've got enemies in this season the Lord is inviting you to partner with Him to expose darkness and bring forth His glorious Light in your life and in the nations.

Do you have a prayer request as you embark on this journey of loving your enemies? Fill out the form with your prayer requests and our team will pray and stand in agreement that His will is done on earth in your life as it is in heaven!