When you pray for something or someone, by default, you think about them. When you think about them, you find yourself wondering things. What do they need? What do they want? What scares them? What makes them angry? What do they hope for? It’s then that you begin to see them in a different light. You come to understand their motivations in a new way.
It’s like the old saying, “never judge anyone before you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Prayer is the fastest way to walk that path.
Who are your enemies? What about them is loveable? What can you ask for them in prayer?
Pray for the spiders. Or the snakes or the Democrats or the Republicans or anyone who is different or threatening and scares you. Pray for them. Love them. Then watch as your own heart softens, transforms, and begins to engage the world in a manifestly different way.
This message is excerpted from “Pray for the spiders” by Susan Sparks in the July/August 2018 Gather magazine. Today is the anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.
There’s still time to register to attend the Just Love Gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, September 21-24, 2023. Will we see you there?
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