As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was thinking about the importance of PRAYING FOR OTHERS.  I find it easy to pray for my own personal needs, asking God for help in my own life.  And it’s easy for me to pray for people who’ve asked for my prayers, or for my family, or for my Church, or for the sick, and for those who have died.  I also like to expand my prayer to universal prayer, praying for the world, for peace and unity. The one I struggle with is praying for those who have hurt me or who have attacked me…basically, praying for my enemies.  That I find difficult.

But Jesus calls us to PRAY for our enemies.  I don’t have a lot of them, maybe just a handful of people, but it is still not easy to pray for them.  Matthew 5:44 says, “But I say to you, love your enemies and PRAY for those who persecute you.”  Easier said than done.  Following Jesus is not always the easiest thing to do so, today I am going to pray for those who persecute me.  I’m going to ask the Lord to remove the bitterness, the anger, and the hurt I feel, and turn it into love, mercy, and forgiveness.

But I know myself.  I’m probably going to have to read these words three or four times today to remind myself of what I have promised.  If I am going to claim Jesus as my Lord, I must follow HIM and HIS WORD. 

Have a wonderful day.  And don’t forget to pray for others.