Kaylania's Blog

Is It Hard For You To Pray For People You Don’t Like Or Made You Mad?  It is hard for me to even begin to touch on this topic because even I have struggled with this issue!  There have been times that God instructed me to pray and intercede on behalf of other people and I refused or didn’t want to because either I didn’t like them, or they hurt my feelings.  I will be honest, forgiveness and mercy is not something that are so easily to do.  If we are all called to the purpose of the Lord, then why is it so hard for some of us to pray for those that we may not be in agreement with? 

Let’s take a look at James 5:16:

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”   The Word of God specifically says that we are to CONFESS OUR SINS TO EACH OTHER and PRAY FOR EACH OTHER.  Although God has given us free Will, we are required to follow His command.  Perhaps someone said something negative about you, and later on down the road, you see that they are in a terrible situation.  Regardless of what they said or how they treated you, would you still pray for them despite how they slandered your name?  The Bible says that we are to pray for those that spitefully use us; Luke 6:28.  God does say that we are not to touch His anointed and do His prophets NO HARM, but we are still to pray for people regardless.  Have you ever done or said something that hurt someone (knowingly or unknowingly), and you needed God’s forgiveness?  We sin all day long and yet God still answers our prayers!

Let’s examine some  factors as to why it’s hard to pray for people you are not in good standing with:

• Jealousy
• Envy
• Anger
• Hurt
• Revenge
• Prejudice
• Pride
• Division
• Gossip
• Bad Attitude
• Fear

These are just a few examples that can lead you to not praying for others.  Ask yourself, “Why is it that I don’t like that person?”, “What have they done to me?”.  Sometimes we as humans tend to judge people and things that we do not understand.  There are times were we are jealous of someone and we will not keep them in prayer when they ask for it because we want something bad to to happen to them.  That is a very terrible place to be!  Think about this.  What if you need prayer or intercession regarding an issue, and no one prayed for you because you made them mad or they just didn’t like you?  Wouldn’t that hurt?  Regardless of how you feel about someone, if God instructs you to pray for them…PLEASE pray!  There is nothing more heinous than being disobedient to the Lord when He instructs you on something and you refuse because of your “feelings” or “emotions”.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we are to “Pray Without Ceasing”. 

There is no exception to the rule when it comes to this.  Sometime we won’t pray for people because of petty issues that make no sense. Here are a few ways on how to overcome this issue of  praying for people you don’t like, understand, or mad you mad:

• Ask God for a clear revelation on what the root of the problem is
• Ask God for forgiveness if there is any bitterness or pride in your heart
• Confront that person and offer prayer (without bringing up the issue if there isn’t one)
• Pray and ask God to change your thoughts and behaviours
• Stay in the Bible more
• Offer to do something nice for that person to show genuine love (1 John 4:18)

I pray that each and every one of you who are reading this are about to set your own prejudices aside, and allow God to use you by standing in the gap for others.  Do not allow the devil to rob your peace or love by not praying for other people because of petty issues or things you may not understand.  God bless you all!