How easy is it to pray for someone you can't stand?

[Lamb]

How easy is it to pray for someone you can't stand?

 

[Daniel Hoseiny]

It's not easy if you focus yourself on the unworthiness of that person.
It's easy when you realize what a joy you will have if that person converts in repentance and becomes good and humble servant of Jesus Christ.
That why we pray. That's why Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

 

[bbas 64]

Not easy.... But pray for them it will change the way you view them

We are all beggars,

In Him

Bill

 

[BruceLeiter]

How easy is it to pray for someone you can't stand?

It's never easy, but we can if we take God's viewpoint that they are God's creations and therefore worthy of our respect as fellow creatures.

 

[Lamb]

It's never easy, but we can if we take God's viewpoint that they are God's creations and therefore worthy of our respect as fellow creatures.

That's a great way of looking at it!

 

[Frankj]

What we put into the world is what we find returning to us, so give blessings to your enemies instead of curses and you will often find they are no longer your enemies and sometimes even become friends.

It helps to be sincere.

 

[Lamb]

What we put into the world is what we find returning to us, so give blessings to your enemies instead of curses and you will often find they are no longer your enemies and sometimes even become friends.

It helps to be sincere.

It's very difficult to give blessings to someone who has such hatred for you and shows it. What ways would you go about giving blessings to them?

 

[BruceLeiter]

It's very difficult to give blessings to someone who has such hatred for you and shows it. What ways would you go about giving blessings to them?

First, I would pray for them. Second, I would answer their hatred with calm, rational explanations of their concerns. Then, the ball is in their court, and they will answer to God for their responses. I would leave it in his hands then.

 

[Frankj]

It's very difficult to give blessings to someone who has such hatred for you and shows it. What ways would you go about giving blessings to them?

That's one that takes a great deal of deliberate effort to overcome the natural worldly tendency to return their hate with our own hate, but it is one that can be done with deliberate effort and practice.

Always try to pray for those we find offensive that God will bless them and smile on them and bring the joy of his will into their lives (not that they will become what we want them to be since God may want something different for them). It's a real challenge to pray for God's perfect will be done in someones life and bring blessings to them instead of praying something that, in effect. means "God turn them into what I want them to be so I can like them".

Something you may find useful to put into practice, and something that will help you develop the habit of praying good things for those you are in contention with. Try giving people blessings instead of trite phrases like the ritual "have a nice day", just giving a simple blessing like (may God smile on you today ...) can actually make a huge difference in other peoples lives as well as your own. Jesus often gave blessings to people, and he said we can do the things he did and even things greater.

Here's another thought, something the Lord gave directly to me in a waking vision a few years ago: "Every day do something nice for someone you've never met and never will". (As simple as this sounds, you have no idea how difficult it is to practice it till you actually try to)

As a;ways, this is my way of thinking and if you don't find it of any use just ignore it.

 

[Lamb]

That's one that takes a great deal of deliberate effort to overcome the natural worldly tendency to return their hate with our own hate, but it is one that can be done with deliberate effort and practice.

Always try to pray for those we find offensive that God will bless them and smile on them and bring the joy of his will into their lives (not that they will become what we want them to be since God may want something different for them). It's a real challenge to pray for God's perfect will be done in someones life and bring blessings to them instead of praying something that, in effect. means "God turn them into what I want them to be so I can like them".

Something you may find useful to put into practice, and something that will help you develop the habit of praying good things for those you are in contention with. Try giving people blessings instead of trite phrases like the ritual "have a nice day", just giving a simple blessing like (may God smile on you today ...) can actually make a huge difference in other peoples lives as well as your own. Jesus often gave blessings to people, and he said we can do the things he did and even things greater.

Here's another thought, something the Lord gave directly to me in a waking vision a few years ago: "Every day do something nice for someone you've never met and never will". (As simple as this sounds, you have no idea how difficult it is to practice it till you actually try to)

As a;ways, this is my way of thinking and if you don't find it of any use just ignore it.

I like what you're saying because it's in line biblically...like in the Old Testament when the eldest received a blessing, he actually received blessings from God. And when our pastors say, "The Lord bless you and keept you," etc...you actually do receive the Lord's blessing.