Interesting post–thanks for all the great links. I’ve thought a lot about how to pray for people who might consider me a political “enemy.” It’s tricky, isn’t it?

I don’t feel right praying for them to change or be enlightened, knowing that they are probably praying for the same thing for me. It seems a little too much like praying for the outcome of a football game, except that people’s politics can have serious real-world consequences. At rare moments, I do find myself able to stop playing judge and jury, and just pray that we will all find our own way to do God’s will as best we are able.

To pilfer Toole’s `A Confederacy of Dunces,’ it’s supercilious. But truthfully, I don’t care. These dunces aren’t worth the time or attention.

Adam… Prayer is simply hope formalized. That’s all.

Pamela - you’ve hit the nail on its proverbial head. It makes me laugh to think that God has a tally board checking off each prayer that comes in, marking off for and against certain groups of people. However, it can be scary to see that “God is on my side” mentality at work. I second your prayer - that we all find our own way to do God’s will. (Unfortunately, too often my prayers are more along the lines of “Please don’t let them do too much harm. :))

And EJ - “Supercillious” is the first thing I thought of when I saw the website, hence my distaste.

Consider this: the command to Love your enemies, and by so doing heap burning coals upon their heads rings a bell.

Actually, a really good prayer to pray when someone is really driving you mad is to pray that they would receive all the blessings you want for yourself. Pray this prayer regularly, and you’ll find your attitude towards that person will change. And maybe THAT is the ultimate point. By praying for others that we might not like or approve of, we find ourselves seeing them differently. If some hyper-conservative takes it in their heart to pray for me, and they decide I might be OK after all because of it…we’re both better of, no?

HS - Very good point, and one that I think displays how God can use anything to bring about good. Say that I’m a staunch conservative who begins praying for a liberal for whatever reason, maybe one that’s technically less than biblical. But in the process, I come to an empathy, an understanding that I didn’t have before. I see God’s hand in that - and lest this be construed as political, I would say the same for anyone praying for anyone else, regardless of who it might be.

Great viewpoint. Praying for sinners as a form of judgment is an abuse of your faith. It is a form of self righteousness to elevate yourself at the expense of those you use to do this.

As a Christian, I am taught by Jesus to pray for myself. It is a conversation I have with God. To discuss anyone else with God in a negative way without them being present is gossip. Gossip is mischief.

If your considerations for them are genuine, ask them directly what they want for themselves and for their permission to pray for them in this way. If they share and agree, do it together.

Since I didn’t see it anywhere directly, I can only assume that they are “praying” for liberals to change because they see their ways as wrong. I’d like to see them pray for mercy, grace and forgiveness, the way Jesus said to.

I pray that people who consider themselves Evangelical Christians have mercy on me and what they consider to be my errant beliefs, have grace to accept them, and forgive me for them. Amen.

As Christians, Jesus has given us a lesson in prayer in The Lord’s Prayer. In it we ask for forgivness from God, as we forgive others.

We do not pray for others to forgive us. We do not pray for them to acquire mercy and forgiveness for our own sake.

This is an important distinction and speaks to the poster’s point.

We do not pray for God to interceed based on our judgment. This is arrogant, a pretense that God needs our intecession to direct God’s ways.

Forgivness is not an act of judgment. It is the giving up of judgment. Forgivness is not a pardon or acceptance of some wrong or offense against us.

Forgivness is giving up that I have any right to take offense or to judge you as having wronged me. This is for God. We may ask this only of God, and we may provide it for ourselves in our forgiveness of others.

the “radically liberal” age of Obama?

I’m sure Jerry Falwell’s grandfather considered the popular music of the day “radically liberal”.

We progressives aren’t afraid of change because we believe in evolution.
Everything that lives, grows and dies. Labelling that growth either evil or radical doesn’t negate the fact that we all change.

That’s why we view conservative Christians as repressive. It is their resistance to change.