Praying for Those Who Kick You in the Shins
One day while feeling rather virtuous I CONSIDERED praying for “mine enemies” as Jesus told His disciples to do. There was one enemy in particular that I began to pray for. Oh, she was not an enemy in the sense that she was villainous or anything like that. She just kept saying and doing things that hurt me. I felt just as I did when a girl named Mary Alice would kick me in the shins when I was in the first grade.
So I prayed for this enemy. I prayed that she would see the light. I prayed that she would turn from her “kicking” ways and have a change of heart. I prayed that she would seek my forgiveness. However, the more I prayed for “mine enemy” I came to see that I was actually praying for myself. If my prayers were answered they would benefit me more than her. Oh yeah, she would benefit, because we all need to change our hurting ways, but the fact still remained that I was praying for myself. I CONSIDERED how I could truly pray for this enemy. Simple, I realized I should be praying for her just as I would pray for a friend.
So I prayed for her good health and happiness. I prayed for her success and that she would know the love of God and that every day would be a blessing in her life. After I finished praying for her, I looked up to God and asked, “Just once, I pray that she would stop kicking me in the shins!”
“No need,” said God “I will speak to her about that myself.”
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:44-45
Rev. Wendell Mettey
Revised 5/13/2013
