Luke 23:34 tells us what Jesus prayed as he was on the cross: Father,forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.
This is a great example of how to act when people give us a hard time, or when there is friction in our relationships. We are comfortable with the idea (though the action sometimes is uncomfortable) to ask for and offer forgiveness but Jesus went one step further – he prayed for them.
As the kids and I talked about this today I was felt prodded to lift conflict resolution up a notch – can we pray for each other when the other person has hurt us? Tough stuff but it is the example that Jesus set us. What will this really look like?
1. If someone hurts us but hasn’t asked for forgiveness (such as the soldiers casting lots, the crowd crucifying Jesus) can we pause and pray for the person – not to pray for vindication but rather to pray for blessing.
2. After we have mended the rift in our relationship can we pray take a moment to pray together – to pray love and blessing for the other person (regardless of who was right and who was wrong).
