Speak well of your enemies
Jesus said: “Bless those who curse you.”(Luke 6 vs 28). Remember that the word bless from the Greek language is taken from the words: EU which means “well” and LOGOS which means “speech.”
Put the two words together and you have eulogy or eulogise. The word eulogy basically means “to speak well of.” When we bless an enemy we are, in essence, speaking well about her to others and to her as well. The word eulogy means speaking well, not just thinking well! If you just think about forgiveness, rather than expressing the spirit of forgiveness through the act of eulogising your enemy, you will forever be on the street level watching others cascading over the summit into the double-portion blessing God has prepared for them.
Pray for your enemies
Not only are we to bless the one’s who have cursed us, we are also called to pray for them. Jesus said in, Luke 6 vs 28: “Pray for those who spitefully use you . . .”
l You have to listen to the words of David as he describes a prayer that he prayed for an enemy who had become ill.
Psalm 35 vs 11 – 16,Vs 11: “Fierce witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know.” Vs 12, “They reward me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul.” Vs 13, “But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.” Vs 14, “I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.” Vs 15, “But in my adversity they rejoiced And gathered together; Attackers gathered against me, And I did not know it; They tore at me and did not cease; Vs 16, “With ungodly mockers at feasts They gnashed at me with their teeth.”
I call this “A” level Christianity, having the ability to play with pain.
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l Jesus prayed for the hate-filled mob who stood beneath His cross.
Luke 23 vs 24: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”
l Stephen prayed for the very ones who were stoning him to death.
Acts 7 vs 60: “Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
l Here is a prayer of blessing for an enemy that I think might help you. “Lord, today I bring to you in prayer the person who has done one or more of the following to me…”
l Verbally cursed and abused me;
l Betrayed me;
l Despitefully used me;
l Falsely accused me;
l Stolen my goods;
l Physically or sexually abused me or my loved ones;
l First of all, Lord I forgive and release this person from any feelings of revenge, hatred or anger within me. Now I bless this person, and I ask you to bless him (or her);
l Bless his life with riches and honour;
l Bless his home with kindness, joy and love;
l Bless him with healing and wholeness;
l Bless him with integrity and wisdom;
l Bless the good works of his hands;
l Bless his mind, will and emotions with the peace of God;
l Bless him with the desire to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit;
l I pray, Lord, that you will bless him or her with the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh and that he would forget the pain of his past and be fruitful in his future;
l Cause your face to shine upon them and be gracious to them and give them peace.
I pray that your strong name will be upon them. Amen!
Prepare a meal for your enemies
Romans 12 vs 20: “Therefore If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
I know that this sounds far fetched, but it is a biblical principle that deserves our attention. We are to help supply the needs of our enemies in practical ways.
l Cyrus the great.
He was one of the greatest conquerors in history. When nations fell before him, it was his practice immediately to comfort his enemies and feed them, many a times allowing them to remain in power under his new governorship. In so doing, he showed mercy to his enemies and guaranteed that future up raisings against his sovereign rule would be few.
l The Prophet Elisha.
He fed the enemies of Israel, and it became the key that established long lasting peace between Israel and Syria.
2 Kings 6 vs 21-23,Vs 21: “Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” Vs 22, But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” Vs 23, “Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.”
So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.
Do you want peace with your enemies? Feed them.
Show kindness and mercy to your enemies
Can you trust God to cover and protect you as you bless your offenders?
That is really what it is all about, isn’t it? Trust.
Jonah
God told Jonah to take a message of repentance and judgement to the Ninevites. The Ninevites were hated, heathen enemies of the Jews and Jonah wanted nothing to do with them. Jonah ran from the call to bless his enemies because he was afraid that God just might show them mercy (bless them). He repented only after his running away from the protective covering of God landed him in a whale of a problem. Jonah finally preached the word of the Lord to the Ninevites and, amazingly, they repented and God showed them mercy.
Here is the record of Jonah’s anger toward God when he had mercy on Jonah’s enemies.
Jonah 3 vs 10: “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”
Jonah 4 vs 2: “So he prayed to the LORD, and said, Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, One who relents from doing harm.”
Later God would say to Jonah:
Jonah 4 vs 11: “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left-and much livestock?”
You see, God wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth of His son.
The very one’s who have harmed and hurt you are on God’s heart! He loves them and sent His son to die for them. Listen to this, “some of your small enemies may be God’s best friends,” that’s why they are not:
l Dying, when in fact you wish them dead;
l They continue to prosper.
Peter
When the enemies of Christ come to arrest Him, it was His mercy that re-attached the ear of the High Priest’s servant after Peter had cut it off with a sword.(Don’t mess with Peter).
Jesus Christ
Look at the words of Christ in Luke 6 vs 35-36.
Luke 6 vs 35-36,Vs 35: “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
Vs 36: “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
David
2 Samuel 9 vs 1-10,Vs 1, Now David said: “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Vs 2, “And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” Vs 3, Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.” Vs 4, So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.” Vs 5, “Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.” Vs 6, Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” Vs 7, So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” Vs 8, Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”
Vs 9, And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.” Vs 10, “You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
King Saul, while he was alive and reigning resented David. Several times he (Saul) tried to kill David. Meanwhile, David served King Saul faithfully. King Saul influenced his family against David. Still David loved King Saul and he had entered into a covenant with Jonathan, one of King Saul’s son.
Now . . . when King Saul died with his son Jonathan at war. King Saul left a grandson (Mephibosheth) who was Jonathan’s son — young baby. By then he was baby and as King Saul’s family was fleeing the palace fearing David — the nurse who looked after the baby tripped and fell, dropping young Mephibosheth who then became crippled on both legs.
Now we are introduced to Mephibosheth a grown up crippled man on crutches at LoDebar (desert) living in squalor conditions, And that’s how we connect to 2 Samuel 9 vs 1-10.
Vs 7, David talks of showing kindness to his potential enemy.
l Restoration of land of Saul to his grandson;
l Eating with David at his table continually.
Vs 8, Giving to Mephibosheth all that belonged to Saul and his house.
Vs 10, The former servants of King Saul to work the land for the Crippled Mephibosheth.
How did his potential enemy respond?
2 Samuel 9 vs 8: “Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”
In summary, Mephibosheth was forever grateful. No more plans to assassinate David.
●Bishop Colin Nyathi is a Senior Pastor and Founder of Harvest House International Churches
