Continuing from a previous post, Brent L. Top wrote:
Several years ago I had an experience that taught me the profound yet practical meaning of Jesus’ admonition to “pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” While sitting with a group of religious educators on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the sea of Galilee, I asked each member of the group to share personal insights regarding the Sermon on the Mount. Most of the comments dealt with the doctrinal points, but one member of the group who was serving as a bishop at the time shared an experience that taught all of us the timelessness and practicability of Jesus’ simple teachings. He explained how he had counseled with a couple who were experiencing serious marital difficulties. There seemed to be little if any progress toward reconciliation. They had participated in professional counseling along with frequent and regular visits with the bishop. Nothing seemed to help. The couple was drifting further and further apart. Just when the bishop was most discouraged and felt the marriage could not be saved, he thought of Jesus’ admonition to “pray for your enemies.” He had never before thought of that passage in a marriage or family context. As he pondered, it was clear to him that the Master’s words had just as much, if not more, meaning for a failing marriage as the many other settings that we most often consider.
“I want each of you to pray for the other,” the bishop counseled the couple. “Not just rote, empty prayers, but real heartfelt prayer. I want you to plead with the Lord to bless and help your partner.” The couple was somewhat stunned by the bishop’s counsel, but they agreed to give it a try. As they left the bishop’s office, he reminded them: “Now this isn’t just a one time-thing. I want you to sincerely pray for your spouse every day. We’ll talk again in a month.”
At the end of the month, the couple returned to the bishop’s office holding hands. All their problems were not solved, but there was a spirit of love, kindness, and forgiveness that had long been absent in their marriage. “It’s pretty hard to be angry at someone for very long when you are earnestly praying for their well-being and blessing,” the husband happily reported. Here was a loving example—a walking, talking object lesson—that testified of the healing power of praying for our enemies.
The more we extend our compassion and charity to others—including our enemies—through heartfelt prayer, the more our icy feelings of hatred and resentment will melt away. When we unselfishly and mercifully pray for those who have offended us, we can in turn come confidently before our Father and petition on our own behalf. ~Brent L. Top, Living Waters, (Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2002) p. 70-71
