| Praying for our enemies is the Christ-like thing to do  By Byron E. Brought The 20s group at Oakdale-Emory UMC in Olney recently finished a study on forgiveness. In light of the recent war in Iraq, this topic is one with which many people of faith are genuinely struggling. I asked the class if they could pray for Iraqi soldiers. Did they pray for Saddam Hussein? The response I got was very genuine. How could we do that, the class replied. How could we possibly pray for Saddam Hussein when our troops, the people we know and love, were over there trying to kill him? Should we have prayed for his safety, for God to protect him? Thats absurd. Yes, I suppose it is. Then how do we take the words of Jesus seriously? As a representative of the church, I have to separate my own feelings and emotional responses from what I believe is a Christian perspective. Once I do that, its easier for me to follow what I believe than it is to follow what I feel. If I only followed what I felt, then I would fall short of the Christian life to which Ive been called. In Alive Now, the Rev. Walter Everett, a pastor in Connecticut, describes forgiveness as an act of will, not so much a feeling. We may not feel good about the person, but that shouldnt stop us from going through the process of forgiveness. I dont mean to make this sound easy, its not. But it is possible. So before you throw out your French fries or kick your German shepherd, consider forgiveness. It may not be possible for us to forgive and love as God has done, but at some limited level, we are all capable of loving and praying for our enemies. To ignore this is to be outside the boundaries of Christian doctrine and our biblical witness. To hate, and to seek revenge, is anti-Christian. Our minimum commitment, as followers of Christ, is to wrestle with his words. We dont want to become like our enemies, and so if no other prayer comes to mind, we can pray, God please transform them, just as you have transformed me. If we all prayed for our enemies, then there would be no such thing as war. Impossible? No. Idealistic? Perhaps. Christ-centered? Absolutely. The Rev. Byron E. Brought is a pastor at Oakdale-Emory UMC in Olney. | 
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