Praying for enemies

The National Prayer Breakfast made the news again this year. I did not know much about this event until Ben Carson grabbed the spotlight with his remarks about political correctness. His words were refreshing, although some questioned if it was appropriate for him to speak contrary to the sitting president. Times have changed. This year it was the remarks made by the president that took the headlines. Many people were surprised when he challenged the phrase, "I'm praying for you."

I have stated on numerous occasions we should pray for the president no matter who holds the office. As many have said, we want the country to succeed regardless of what political party is in control. It is understandable if we do not want certain policies to prevail. We should ask for divine guidance to help politicians make wise decisions.

Should we claim to be praying for someone if we are devoting our time and energy to destroying that person's reputation? I think such statements are confusing at best. Perhaps a truer statement may be to say you are praying for the country and you believe that attacking your opponent is what is best for the country?

There are biblical examples of people praying to God for his help in defeating enemies. There are what is known as imprecatory psalms where the psalmist cries out to God to pour out wrath on the wicked. When someone says to me, "I'm praying for you," I assume they are showing love and support -- not actively seeking my ruination.

In the New Testament, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This is what we call "The Lord's Prayer." Another name for that prayer is the model prayer. The English Standard Version translates it this way: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Matthew 6:9-13.

While many people pray that prayer word for word, it is structured in a way that is helpful to inform our prayers. We think about God and his attributes. We are addressing the one who has all power and authority. We pray in faith believing he will help us. We pray for his will realizing that it may be different from what we want.

As we pray according to the model, we ask for The Lord's provision for our needs and we pray about forgiveness. We pray for him to forgive us and that we can forgive others--a tough thing to pray at times. We also pray that he will help us to avoid temptation and protect us from evil.

Before Jesus gave the model prayer, he warned his students not to pray like hypocrites. When we pray, we are talking to God. Jesus tells them that they should pray in secret. He also tells them not to string together empty phrases but to say what they mean. We can be honest with God because he already knows what we are thinking. Most praying is done privately, but sometimes we are called on to pray publicly. I plan to write about public prayer in my next column.

Think about The Lord's Prayer and Jesus' instructions to his disciples. Why would a person announce publicly that he or she is praying for someone unless those words are spoken out of love and support? It is probably better not to broadcast that you are praying for someone if your actions are contrary to your statement. Prayer may not change the other person, but it will change us into more gracious people.