Seeing the Gospel in Everyday Hurts: Why We Can Pray for Our Enemies

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Estimated reading time: 4 mins

Through a small and very ordinary incident at home—something that happens quite often and is also an area of ongoing struggle for me—I was suddenly reminded and inspired to think about what kind of heart we should have when we pray for those who persecute and hurt us.

One of my children, out of ignorance and recklessness, made another child cry. In that moment, I felt a surge of anger rising within me. But I did not want to sin in my anger, because the Bible says, “Be angry and do not sin,” so I prayed to God silently in my heart. Later, I seriously rebuked my child, told them honestly how I felt, and warned them about the seriousness of their actions. Yet through this small incident, God gave me a deeper understanding of the gospel.

I thought: If I can become so angry when one of my own children, out of ignorance and recklessness, hurts another, then how much greater must the righteous anger of a holy and just God be toward those who persecute and hurt His beloved children?

But then God brought something else to my mind: I myself was once someone who rightly deserved His righteous wrath.

I thank the Lord Jesus Christ that on the cross, He bore the punishment and wrath that I deserved and credited me with the righteousness He accomplished. In Christ, I am accepted by God and no longer need to live in fear of His wrath. Instead, I can live in His love, grace, and forgiveness.

This changed the way I thought about those who do not yet know Jesus, yet persecute and hurt christians. They may not understand what they are truly doing or realize how serious their actions are in the sight of God. But ignorance does not make sin innocent, nor does it cancel God’s justice. God will judge all sin righteously.

Yet when I truly know how greatly I have been shown mercy in Christ, I no longer need to avenge myself or harbor personal resentment and hatred toward those who hurt me. I can acknowledge that what they have done is evil while leaving judgment in the hands of the righteous Judge.

And this frees me to have compassion for them—not because what they have done is insignificant or excusable, but because I know that if they ultimately refuse to repent and turn to Christ, they will face a dreadful end.

That is why I am beginning to understand more deeply Jesus’ prayer on the cross:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

This does not mean that they were without sin. Rather, even in the midst of their sinful ignorance and rebellion, Jesus prayed for mercy.

And the reason I can pray for enemies or persecutors is not because I am better than they are, but because I myself was once someone who was blinded and desperately needed mercy and forgiveness.

As Paul says:

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

—Romans 12:19–21

The more deeply I understand the cross, the more I realize that I have no right to place myself in a position of being “better than” those whom I judge. My righteousness is already in Christ. I can entrust my cause to Him and trust that God will bring about perfect justice.

And I can even pray for those who do evil：

“Lord, have mercy on them. Open their eyes and lead them to repentance and faith in You. Do not let them ultimately fall under Your righteous wrath. Instead, may You grant them, just as You have granted me, forgiveness, grace, and eternal life through Christ.”

People often ask, “Why is it that only those who believe in Jesus Christ can enter heaven?”

Perhaps a simple answer is this: because apart from Christ, no one can stand before a holy God in a righteousness sufficient to save us. Every one of us has sinned and hurt others. We may think our offenses are not that serious, but when someone we love is hurt, we begin to understand how real and devastating sin can be. How much more does a holy and righteous God see and respond to sin?

And yet, this is where the gospel is most astonishing:

We all deserved God’s righteous judgment, but Jesus Christ willingly went to the cross and bore the punishment we deserved, so that everyone who trusts in Him is no longer condemned, but receives His righteousness, peace with God, and eternal life.

As Scripture says:

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
—John 3:36

And again:

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
—Acts 4:12

Only Jesus Christ can save us from the righteous judgment we deserve and give us true peace, joy, and eternal life.

So when I think about those who hurt me, I do not want the evil they have done to cause me to be overcome by hatred as well.

I can leave judgment in God’s hands, entrust myself to Christ, and entrust them to God’s mercy and justice.

Because I myself am someone who once deserved God’s wrath, yet through Christ I have received mercy.

And because the cross has shown me such great mercy, I pray that the Lord will give me a heart that increasingly resembles Christ’s—a heart that does not deny or minimize evil, but continues to trust in God’s justice in the face of evil and, within that justice, continues to pray for mercy for my enemies.