<<<How to Pray for Our Enemies>>>

[shando]

Ant. 3 I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy.

Psalm 52
Against a calumniator
If anyone would boast, let him boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Why do you boast of your wickedness,
you champion of evil,
planning ruin all day long,
your tongue like a sharpened razor,
you master of deceit?

You love evil more than good,
lies more than truth.
You love the destructive word,
you tongue of deceit.

For this God will destroy you
and remove you for ever.
He will snatch you from your tent and uproot you
from the land of the living.

The just shall see and fear.
They shall laugh and say:
“So this is the man who refused
to take God as a stronghold,
but trusted in the greatness of his wealth
and grew powerful by his crimes.”

But I am like a growing olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the goodness of God
for ever and ever.

I will thank you for evermore;
for this is your doing.
I will proclaim that your name is good,
in the presence of your friends.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Father, you cut down the unfruitful branch for burning and prune the fertile to make it bear more fruit. Make us grow like laden olive trees in your domain, firmly rooted in the power and mercy of your Son, so that you may gather from us fruit worthy of eternal life.

Ant. I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy.

peace

thanks for this prayer

 

[shando]

There is a difference, Shando, between forgiving someone and letting them be in control or allowing them to continue to harm you. In addition, it is extremely difficult (but not impossible) to forgive someone when the situation is still out of control.

I think you may be from a different culture than I am, so you have your own norms and customs, and have different ways of dealing with such situations. I would suggest talking with a local person you trust, someone who doesn’t judge you, and get their advice.

In the mean time, it sounds like the woman you speak of is trying to punish you for standing up to her. She is doing what we all want to do when we feel that we are somehow violated, she is trying to make you pay for what you did. As hard as it may be to believe, her own prayer is similar to the one that you found in the old testament - but you are the enemy. I know it is strange to believe this, but she sees you in this way. The coincidences are always so fascinating, she sees you as an enemy, you see her as one.

If she is indeed collecting money for a good cause, but using the money for her own benefit, these truths usually have a way of revealing themselves. In the mean time, you have gotten a lot of good advice from Alan and hazcompat. Though it is very difficult to do, try to understand where she is coming from, try to think of reasons why she is so angry at you, try to put yourself in her shoes. She is blind to your humanity, just as the crowd who crucified Jesus was blind to His humanity. She does not know what she is doing, but she has the illusion that she is destroying someone (you) who “deserves it”.

If Jesus could forgive from a cross of death, you can indeed forgive from the cross of shame against your name. God bless you and I pray you can work this out.

actually she is angry with me for not accepting her offer and also the other reason is she knows i know her real character…she’s scared if i reveal it to the village people, then people will not trust or help her. since she’s wearing a robe, people blindly believe whatever she says…i had a good name in my village…she knows very well,if she ruins my name, nobody will believe whatever i say to them…that’s her evil thought behind it. that;s why she wanted to ruin my name, then she can get away easily and show the people she’s not a bad woman.

my dad from one of his contact from germany gave her US $2500.00 to help the Tsunami victims of our village…usually people wearing robes cannot accept even a cent without being counted for in their congregation…everything has to be given to their congregation superior and through her they can get the money back…

those days we really trusted her and did not even ask what she did with the money…after sometime, i met that superior and she was talking about the tsunami and told that nobody from our area had helped the villagers, so she had to give funds from their congregation to help them…that point made me think a lot and then i replied back and said about the donation we have given her…superior said she knew nothing about it upto that day…it was about 5years after the tsunami when we had this chat…

after this incident, i didn’t give up…i wanted to dig into everything and see what she’s doing with the money people give…

then i found about her real nature and character…i realised she’s not the saint she shows to outsiders…she got to know about me and that i was behind this and she started ruining my name…

i’m still 24yrs…it was really too much for my age…but i knew God gave me this pain to me for me to realise and get to know the cunning people and for me to be more careful when dealing with people…

now i’m very strong…God made me strong…but one bad thing happened to me after this…i stopped giving any help to people like that… if i want to help someone, i will help that poor person directly, rather than giving money to the people who’re wearing robes to help them…
i might be wrong, but i cannot change that way of mine now…

this is my personal experience about people who are wearing robes…i really have a very negative feeling about them now

i’m happy i shared this with you guys

God bless u!!!

 

[shando]

waiting for a reply from someone

 

[Pitcharan]

I want to know on how to pray for our enemies

some say when praying - ask for forgiveness for the things they have done to us
- in the bible i saw in the Psalms that we ask God to punish them

pls help me to understand this

i’m really confused about this

The knowledge that leads to life gradually unfurls in the books of the Bible. The fullness of truth are the Gospels.

The Books of Job and Psalms are at the beginning of the period known as Wisdom era in Salvation History. By then it was not yet clearly revealed that we should love and not hate enemies. Job even prays for the punishment of his own sins if any: “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her. (Job 31:9-10)

However it was already known that 'vengeance was God’s prerogative" and prayers were made for the punishment of enemies based on this partial knowledge.

But things became a bit more clearer during Solomon’s time. That is why you read in the Book of Proverbs: If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. (Prov 25:21-22). But even this falls short of fullness as it teaches us to repay good for evil, not out of love, but to punish in a different way and lead enemies to conversion rather than further hardening.

The fullness of truth is revealed ONLY by our Lord Jesus Christ who taught:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:17, 43-48)

 

[shando]

The knowledge that leads to life gradually unfurls in the books of the Bible. The fullness of truth are the Gospels.

The Books of Job and Psalms are at the beginning of the period known as Wisdom era in Salvation History. By then it was not yet clearly revealed that we should love and not hate enemies. Job even prays for the punishment of his own sins if any: “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her. (Job 31:9-10)

However it was already known that 'vengeance was God’s prerogative" and prayers were made for the punishment of enemies based on this partial knowledge.

But things became a bit more clearer during Solomon’s time. That is why you read in the Book of Proverbs: If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. (Prov 25:21-22). But even this falls short of fullness as it teaches us to repay good for evil, not out of love, but to punish in a different way and lead enemies to conversion rather than further hardening.

The fullness of truth is revealed ONLY by our Lord Jesus Christ who taught:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:17, 43-48)

what do u mean by forgiveness/forgiving them?

 

[Pitcharan]

what do u mean by forgiveness/forgiving them?

Clarify whether you implied ‘What is meant by forgiveness/forgiving them?’ when you wrote ‘What do you mean by forgiveness/forgiving them?’

In what context? Can you elaborate?

 

[shando]

Clarify whether you implied ‘What is meant by forgiveness/forgiving them?’ when you wrote ‘What do you mean by forgiveness/forgiving them?’

In what context? Can you elaborate?

i actually wanted to know what “u” mean by forgiveness/forgiving them? i wanted to know your view point

 

[Pitcharan]

i actually wanted to know what “u” mean by forgiveness/forgiving them? i wanted to know your view point

In my understanding ‘forgive’ means not nursing any grouse or ill will against an offender and thereby letting our injury heal.

 

[shando]

In my understanding ‘forgive’ means not nursing any grouse or ill will against an offender and thereby letting our injury heal.

according to you, is forgiving necessarily mean u associate them again? i mean about someone or people who has ruined your name, who wanted to break your family etc…

 

[Pitcharan]

according to you, is forgiving necessarily mean u associate them again? i mean about someone or people who has ruined your name, who wanted to break your family etc…

Forgiving has nothing to do with friendship or socialising. You are free to be friendly or avoid friendship with anyone. There is no sin on this account as long as you don’t nurse any hatred within your heart. But this is how you may be tested: the person who ruined your name will be placed at your mercy one day when you least expect and you will have to decide whether you will spontaneously be compassionate or allow your love to be clouded by any pent up grouse.

“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. (Ex 23:4-5)

Love your enemy means do not hate him / her, i.e. do the needful when he / she is badly in need of love. Eg. You may shoot an enemy soldier in battle but ensure you treat your injured POWs with the same love you would show to your own.

During the 1999 ‘Kargil conflict’ between India and Pakistan, we (India) took upon ourselves huge casualties and lost hundreds of men ONLY because we did not want the situation to escalate into a full fledged war and destroy peace in the entire region. For the larger sake of peace, we avoided air strikes and crossing of the LoC (border) and our soldiers climbed the mountain on foot braving continuous firing and died in hundreds. But we succeeded in winning the war, evicting the enemy and also ensuring long-term peace at the cost of many lives of our men. During the battle we gave the best medical treatment to injured POWs. We buried the dead of the enemy wrapped in their own flag, with utmost honour and respect .

In another older (1971) war with Pakistan, the POWs were simply amazed with our Army Chief - Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Read this news item: The honourable treatment of 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war added to Manekshaw’s glory. “The 11th man took out his pagri (headgear) and put it on my feet. He said, "Huzoor aap hain toh huma zinda hain. Mere paanch ladke aapki qaid mein hain. Unki chitthi aati hai. Aapne sabko Quran-e-Sharif di. Wo log charpoy par sote hain, aapke jawaan zameen par sote hain (Sir, we are alive because of you. Five of my men are with you. I heard you give them Quran to read and they sleep on charpoys, while your soldiers sleep on hard ground) ibnlive.in.com/news/sam-bahadur-gallant-in-war-flamboyant-in-peace/67900-19.html

 

[Pitcharan]

“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. (Ex 23:4-5)

Love your enemy means do not hate him / her, i.e. do the needful when he / she is badly in need of love. Eg. You may shoot an enemy soldier in battle but ensure you treat your injured POWs with the same love you would show to your own.

During the 1999 ‘Kargil conflict’ between India and Pakistan, we (India) took upon ourselves huge casualties and lost hundreds of men ONLY because we did not want the situation to escalate into a full fledged war and destroy peace in the entire region. For the larger sake of peace, we avoided air strikes and crossing of the LoC (border) and our soldiers climbed the mountain on foot braving continuous firing and died in hundreds. But we succeeded in winning the war, evicting the enemy and also ensuring long-term peace at the cost of many lives of our men. During the battle we gave the best medical treatment to injured POWs. We buried the dead of the enemy wrapped in their own flag, with utmost honour and respect .

In another older (1971) war with Pakistan, the POWs were simply amazed with our Army Chief - Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Read this news item: The honourable treatment of 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war added to Manekshaw’s glory. “The 11th man took out his pagri (headgear) and put it on my feet. He said, "Huzoor aap hain toh huma zinda hain. Mere paanch ladke aapki qaid mein hain. Unki chitthi aati hai. Aapne sabko Quran-e-Sharif di. Wo log charpoy par sote hain, aapke jawaan zameen par sote hain (Sir, we are alive because of you. Five of my men are with you. I heard you give them Quran to read and they sleep on charpoys, while your soldiers sleep on hard ground) ibnlive.in.com/news/sam-bahadur-gallant-in-war-flamboyant-in-peace/67900-19.html

 

[OneSheep]

Love your enemy means do not hate him / her, i.e. do the needful when he / she is badly in need of love. Eg. You may shoot an enemy soldier in battle but ensure you treat your injured POWs with the same love you would show to your own.

During the 1999 ‘Kargil conflict’ between India and Pakistan, we (India) took upon ourselves huge casualties and lost hundreds of men ONLY because we did not want the situation to escalate into a full fledged war and destroy peace in the entire region. For the larger sake of peace, we avoided air strikes and crossing of the LoC (border) and our soldiers climbed the mountain on foot braving continuous firing and died in hundreds. But we succeeded in winning the war, evicting the enemy and also ensuring long-term peace at the cost of many lives of our men. During the battle we gave the best medical treatment to injured POWs. We buried the dead of the enemy wrapped in their own flag, with utmost honour and respect .

This is fascinating to me. War cannot happen in the context of reconciliation and forgiveness, but here you are at the front lines, doing your job and trying to figure out how to love your enemy and shoot at them as you are commanded to do.

Our troops are regularly indoctrinated that the enemy is something less than human, a “gook” or a “raghead”, which already sets the stage for the opposite of forgiving or loving your enemy. If political leaders could reconcile, there would be no war, period, so the grunts on the ground have to “do their job” because the leaders don’t have the will or the skills to reconcile. The whole situation is bizarre. I salute your efforts, no pun intended.

And I might add, Shando, that forgiveness involves loving and understanding a person to the point that we no longer feel compelled to punish the person; in fact, I know I have forgiven when I can finally admit that I could behave the same way as my enemy if I were in their shoes.

If you are feeling any negativity toward “people in robes”, then this is an opportunity to forgive. As everyone else has said, though, such forgiveness may not (probably won’t) lead to renewing old friendships, and I think a person should feel free to distrust a person who has hurt them - even after reconciling. We can forgive and still withhold trust, but if such trust is withheld as a means of punishing, then we know that we haven’t forgiven yet.