Day 1 · Loving Difficult People
Love Your Enemies
“But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you.”Matthew 5:44
Reflection
Jesus asks something almost impossible: to love those who are hard to love — even those who wound us. Notice He gives a concrete starting place: pray for them. It is hard to keep hating someone you are sincerely praying for. This love is not a warm feeling we must manufacture, but a choice to seek their good, beginning in prayer, by the grace God supplies.
A prayer
Lord Jesus, You ask me to love even those who are hard to love, and I cannot do it on my own. I bring You the person who is difficult for me right now. Rather than rehearse my grievances, I choose to pray for them: bless them, work in their life, and meet whatever need lies behind their behavior. Change my heart toward them, by Your grace. Amen.
Carry this with you
Who is the difficult person God may be asking you to begin praying for — and what good could you ask Him to do for them?