I’m sure if God gave us a sneak peek into his prayer request book on Ghana; which contains all the prayers he has received from Ghanaians, the No. 1 prayer request we will see is “prayer against enemies.”
Whether it is a difficult boss who is not satisfied with our efforts; or a mean auntie who is jealous with our progress; or a colleague who is sabotaging our every move in the office; or a cousin who is envious that we are married and she is not; or even the neighbour who we suspect is the cause of our recent miscarriage, these are enemies of our progress from whom we need protection, and must be prayed against or “bound” as we colloquially say.
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, an enemy is “a person who hates or opposes another person and tries to harm them or stop them from doing something.” Whoever they are, and wherever they are, enemies are real and according to this definition, they hate us and are trying to harm us and impede our progress.
The Ghanaian’s Obsession with Enemies
It is not clear from where the obsession with enemies in our Ghanaian society originated, I’m sure the origin will differ depending on who you speak to. But, whether it is in the church or outside the church, there is this strong belief in our Ghanaian society that someway somehow, someone somewhere is working against our progress all the time and we must constantly “bind” them if we’re are to progress in life.
It doesn’t take long when you enter a prayer meeting to discover that, it’s actually a demon and enemy “binding” session. All the prayer topics in one way or another have something to do with an enemy. In my experience, if I asked ten Ghanaian Christians what specific ways I can pray for them, I’m pretty sure in seven out of ten, one of the requests will have something to do with enemies and demons.
To be clear, I’m not oblivious to the existence of enemies and evil forces. The Bible admonishes us in many places to be on guard against the evil one and his cohorts. In 1 Peter 5:8 we are told, “be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” I will be a reckless Christian if I did not appreciate the existence of the devil and his schemes.
But in the preface to The Screwtape Letters, a fictional book on an imaginary correspondence between an older demon and his apprentice nephew, C. S. Lewis warns Christians against an inordinate obsession with demons and their work. He writes, “there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
Our excessive obsession with enemies and demons reveals a deeply flawed understanding of who God is. Contrary to what we might say we believe, constantly attributing suffering and difficult situations in our lives to the activities of our enemies reveals a diminished view of God. It only suggests that such individuals have power to subvert God’s purposes and plans in our lives. If an enemy can cause a miscarriage while God watches on, then we have a serious problem with the “God” we have entrusted our lives to.
It is true that there is a spiritual battle raging on, but Scripture teaches us that this is not an equal and open contest between God and the devil as we see from the story of Job. The devil and his cohorts are on a leash and they can only go as far as the Sovereign God would allow them. So, take comfort my Christian friend and set your hearts and affections on God, rather than obsessing about demons and enemies.
Suffice it to say that in praying against our enemies, we may not literally say they are demons, however, deep down we believe that their hatred or opposition is inspired by the devil hence the reason we “bind” them. But, taking into account the words of C. S. Lewis, what should be our attitude toward our real or perceived enemies who we believe are out to get us?
What Should be Our Attitude Toward Our “Enemies”
In a section of the Sermon on the Mount recordedin Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus taught his disciples,
“43 You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
In our case we don’t even have to hear it said, it is very natural for us to love those who love us and hate those who are out to get us. It’s a natural principle of life; it sounds good and it feels right. But the countercultural message of Jesus is to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.” In the parallel passage in Luke 6, it says, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Jesus calls us not to pray against or curse our enemies but to love, pray forand bless them.
And he sets God as the standard. He says in verse 45, love your enemies “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” In Romans 5:8 Paul tells us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners [enemies], Christ died for us.”
In a similar exhortation in Romans 12:20-21, Paul told the Christians in Rome, “to the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Sometimes the best way to love an enemy is to remove yourself from a place if your life is physically in danger, or turn them over to civil authorities if they have broken the laws of the state. But, the call to love, pray for and bless them doesn’t change even in those circumstances.
I know many of us will at this point protest and contest that this is easier said than done. But such is the call and demand of Jesus on our lives as his followers. The call to follow him is a radical one and you’re right in thinking that this is not easy, because it is actually impossible.
But you know what? Jesus is not asking us to do this in our own strength. It takes the grace of God to love your enemy, just as it takes God’s grace to be saved. The starting place is to pray for your enemies not against them.
