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True Christians are no strangers to persecution. We deal with it daily, and JESUS gave us plenty of warning that following Him wouldn't be the most popular thing to do.
But JESUS equips us with the tools and skills we need to handle being hated for our religion, and tells us to pray for our enemies.
Above all else, Christians are to love. We love our enemies and warn them daily they are going to Hell.
We spend our lifetime toiling for CHRIST, all while being mocked and cursed by those who hate us, only to put down what we are doing and run to their aid when they need it.
That is what JESUS tells us to do:
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; -Matthew 5:44But JESUS equips us with the tools and skills we need to handle being hated for our religion, and tells us to pray for our enemies.
Above all else, Christians are to love. We love our enemies and warn them daily they are going to Hell.
We spend our lifetime toiling for CHRIST, all while being mocked and cursed by those who hate us, only to put down what we are doing and run to their aid when they need it.
That is what JESUS tells us to do:
When somebody attacks you physically for being a True Christian, turn the other cheek:
In Proverbs we are instructed to care for even the basic needs of our enemies:
True Christians know there are few things as helpful and worthwhile as praying for somebody. That's why I prefer to add somebody who is dying in the hospital to my nightly prayer list rather than have my hard-earned tax dollars go to help them pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses. (If they survive long enough.)
So to help all of us care for our enemies as JESUS says we should, I have collected the following relevant prayers from the Bible which are specifically intended to be said for your enemies.
Psalm 35:3-9 says:
4Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
5Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
6Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
7For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
8Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.
9And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.
Shout Glory! I always feel the pangs of GOD's love wash over me whenever I say this prayer for my enemies! There certainly is no better way to turn the other cheek than to have the traps your enemies have set for you turned against them!
Here's another one you can say for your enemies when you're thinking about JESUS' commands to say blessings on those who persecute you:
Psalm 55:9-16
9Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.Here's another one you can say for your enemies when you're thinking about JESUS' commands to say blessings on those who persecute you:
Psalm 55:9-16
10Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
11Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
12For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
13But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
14We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
15Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
16As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
Praying for the destruction of entire cities filled with sinners is a True Christian virtue, and asking JESUS to give them a quick trip to hell is the very definition of Christian love!
When I think about giving food and water to my enemies sometimes I think about how they never gave me any food or water, and then I think how I am expected to give THEM food and water. Well, that's when I say this prayer from Psalm 69:
22Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
23Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
24Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
25Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
26For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
27Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
28Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
29But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Truly, this is how JESUS must have prayed for His enemies, even as He was being nailed to the cross.
So the next time you feel like smashing the teeth out of your enemies' skull, blinding their eyes, and striking their names from the book of life, just say a prayer for them instead and let GOD do it for you!
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