Change of Heart

"Okay, Pastor Mark, you're saying that I need to pray that other people will become aware of the salvation God has given them through Jesus, so their lives will be blessed and on top of that live in God's presence forever. Not a bad idea, I guess, but I don't even like my neighbors, and I'm really glad the noisy one down the street moved away. And some of my relatives -- oh, the stories I could tell you! So I don't even want to pray for them."

Shoot, you think that's unique to you? Hardly. But if God felt like that, would he have loved you? Hmmm...I know he wouldn't have loved me. But his Son (the perfect expression of God's love to us) came to die in our place, before we made a move -- see my old favorite, Romans 5:8.

God's purpose and passion is for everyone to know him face to face, forever. He wants that to be our passion too. Paul wrote to Timothy: "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth." Paul defines that truth in verses 5 and 6: "For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time."

But, if you really don't feel like it, perhaps the first prayer is for a changed heart -- to learn to feel like it. Actually, it's to learn to feel like God feels, in the words of Jesus himself: "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).

In short, though you may not love your neighbors, Jesus does. If you don't love your neighbors, you need his love, not yours, to flow through you.

Yep, Jesus commanded us to pray for others. But sometimes we have to tell God, paraphrasing the man who wanted to believe and wasn't sure how (Mark 9:24) “I do love, but help me overcome my un-loving!”

God will answer that prayer. Try it for a few months and let me know what happens.