What do you pray for most often? I pray for peace in this troubled world. I do pray for my family and friends, for my diseased relatives, for a good day, for those who asked me for prayer, and for many other intentions. But I don’t think I pray for those who don’t like me, or have criticized me, or said something bad to me. I don’t pray for those who hurt me or my family badly. I don’t pray for those who do terrible things to others. Why would I? I pray only for those that I like. However, we are reminded today to pray for our enemies too. Jesus said: “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” -- and “if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that?” Jesus wants our prayer and love to become, as He said, ‘unusual’, meaning different, out of this world. It is easier to hate, to be angry with our enemies. But pagans do the same. The followers of Christ must be different, ‘unusual’ and pray and love even their enemies.
