Hats off to Ailsa for asking tough questions in response to our item from the July 13th edition of Brigada, “2) Pray for Peace.” In the past, visible at…
https://brigada.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=14267&action=edit
Ailsa wrote, “I am surprised that Brigada is not advocating prayer for the militants – for their salvation. Many are praying for the victims -which is good- but no one is praying for the militants.” She asks a great question. What’s your take on it? Click on “Comment” at the end of the web version of this item.
If I’m not mistaken, the Bible does have something to say about loving our enemies…! And the last I heard, there wasn’t a special class of enemies that are exempt from this commandment. Praying for militants is a great way to “love our enemies” – a welcome & needed reminder.
I agree with Brian. Jesus states it no clearer than that.
Sometimes it is not easy, especially when it is personal, but that is probably when Jesus wants us to pray the hardest for our enemies.
I’ve been shot at more times than I can remember while in Iraq & Afghanistan. I’ve had to carry my best friend’s body to a waiting aircraft after he was shot down & killed in Afghanistan. God had to work my heart over, beating me about the head & heart quite a bit after my years of fighting.
I first had to just pray A LOT for my heart to be changed and thankfully God heard my cries and aligned my heart with his. Now my heart and my wife’s heart for Muslim people around the world (militants, terrorists and just normal people like you and me) has grown a thousand fold and we pray everyday for the Prince of Peace to reveal himself to the 1.65 billion Muslims around the world!
here is a place: https://atfp.org/
We loved the “Adopt a terr. for prayer” site!
Sometimes, the people who are the most opposed to the Gospel may actually be quite close to the Kingdom of Heaven.
If the Spirit of God is working on their hearts, it’s common that the response is outward (and often virulent) persecution of the followers of Jesus.
The World is at War
It’s no understatement to say that our world is at war. There are more than 40 ongoing conflicts today, 11 of which have been started in the past 5 years. And many more conflicts are on the brink of war. The hatred runs deep, the tensions high, and the anger wide. As Christians, how engaged are we? How many of the 40+ ongoing conflicts can we name? How many do we pray for?
Instead of denouncing the guilty, debating the justifications and pretexts on which people go to war, or perhaps fully understanding the ongoing battle between good and evil, we can only lament the evident groanings of the fallen world in which we live. And we cry out to a God who cares (1 Peter 5:7).
Join me in prayer for all the soldiers, sailors, marines, and pilots who are fighting on the front lines, regardless of which flag they have stitched on their uniform.
In a world of peril, may we never forget the blood that was shed on Calvary in the ultimate war – the war for our salvation. It is as soldiers of this war that we pray for a world in conflict.
I’m thinking of ISIS as I read this and Mosul. Do you mean prayers like those in Revelation 6? Those are appropriate too. It is only when these people fear God that they will come to Christ. May He strike the fear of the Lord into them for touching His Anointed people.
We have commandment to love enemies as noted above and some examples from scripture.
The following people seemed to have opposed God’s work and were later transformed, do we suppose it came without prayer for them?
Saul/Paul – at stoning of Stephen then Acts 9
Crispus – Synagogue leader Corinth Acts 18:6 & 8
Sosthenes – Synagogue leader Corinth Acts 18:7, then 1Cor 1:1