Pray For Not Against One Another

James 5:16 " Confess your faults one to another,and pray one for another that ye may be healed.The effectual fervant prayers of a righteous man availeth much".

Ultimately,the goal of prayer is to cleanse us and bring us closer to our Father as we seek to do His will in earth as a mirror of His being done in heaven.When Jesus instructed us to go into our closet to pray,He wasn't telling us to go and sic God on our enemies like we would sic our dog on an intruder,or to beg for the material things of this world,for we are not of this world. Our prayers are a holy and sacred communication between us and our Father, and it should be for the betterment of ourselves,and the world inwhich we live.

Stories have circulated on this social media and other media of people asking that Christians pray against someone or something.Some on this sight have asked that we pray against the President of the United States. Prayer is not to be used to covet what belongs to another nor to invoke vengence on others.We are commanded to bless and not to curse, to do good and not evil.Prayer is a gift, it is our opportunity to commune with our heavenly Father.Through prayer,we've been empowered to speak life and blessings,to change the course of an individual's life, to invite God's wisdom and presence into any situation, and to worship the creator.Paul instructs us to submit to and pray for those who have authority over us.We should pray for their wisdom to lead "that we might live a peaceful and quiet lives in godlessness and holiness". Paul's prayers included prayers for Nero, the cruel Roman emperor who later ordered Pauls execution.That was the same kind of prayer Jesus prayed for His enemies when he was on the cross.

Sadly, some people are misguided in their understanding of prayer.They act as though they are going into the closet to ask God to bring a curse on all whom they don't like or agree with.Those kind of prayers show we don't have a close relationship with the Lord.We must remember that prayer for our enemies dissolves our anger and builds compassion and helps our own prayers be un hindered.We must pray according to the scripture and in a spirit of love when we enter our closet.