I can no longer condemn or hate other Christians for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble they cause me.
In intercessory prayer the face that may have been strange and intolerable to me is transformed into the face of one for whom Christ died, the face of a pardoned sinner.
That is a blessed discovery for the Christian who is beginning to offer intercessory prayer for others. As far as we are concerned, there is no dislike, no personal tension, no disunity or strife that cannot be overcome by intercessory prayer.
Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual and the community must enter every day.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
http://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/40-day-journey-dietrich-bonhoeffer/2012/12/08
It is true you can no longer dislike someone you are praying for. I guess that is why Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. Praying for them changes our hearts.
"But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." Matthew 5:44,45
It is true you can no longer dislike someone you are praying for. I guess that is why Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. Praying for them changes our hearts.
"But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." Matthew 5:44,45
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