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“I’ll pray for you” is my favorite Christian cliche. Studies that I made up show that people only follow through with the prayer 27% of the time. When people say it, they don’t always believe it. When we hear it, we often doubt it.

However, one time I turned the tables on this cliche. No, I didn’t actually pray for the person. I actually refused to pray for the person.

I don’t remember why I was mad, but I was furious, especially at a particular girl. Everything she did made me angry. When she wasn’t around, my blood continued to boil simply thinking about what she had done. Our feud came to a climax when she came to me of all people and asked me to pray for her. How did I respond?

“I’m sorry but I have I have a lot of others things to pray for right now, so I probably won’t have time.”

I actually told her I didn’t have time to pray for her!

What a jerk!

To top it off, I was actually proud of myself. I didn’t lie to her and tell her I would pray for her when I really had no intention. I was partially honest. I may have had the time, but there was no way I was praying for her problems and needs.

Any good Christian probably sees where this story is heading. You’re probably assuming I felt proud and puffed up until I read Matthew 5:44, which says, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (ESV).” That’s how it always happens, right? Wrong.

To be honest, I didn’t see this girl as my enemy. Saddam Hussein was my enemy. Osama Bin Laden was my enemy. I had no problem praying for them. It was easy to say, “God, please let these terrorists turn to you and come to know you and start a Christian revolution in Iraq and Afghanistan”…or something like that.

Praying for my enemies was easy. Praying for someone I knew and didn’t like was much more difficult.

If I’m standing all alone on this one, then so be it. But I have a feeling the island I’m on is inhabited by many others who, like me, are wearing their Sunday best. Loving and praying for our enemies is easy when our “enemies” are thousands of miles away. Loving and praying for our enemies is a lot more difficult when our “enemies” are sitting in the pew behind us.

Sometimes it’s easier for me to pray for my enemies in Al-Qaeda than it is for me to pray for people in the church that I don’t like. It’s not right. It’s not good. But sadly, it’s often the truth.

[Photo source: http://bit.ly/mJqG38]

Recently, I’ve been reading Philip Yancey’s book, Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference? While it took me awhile to get past the first four chapters, the book has started offering me some incredible truths about prayer.

Maybe the greatest lesson I’ve learned is from Yancey’s own feelings of inadequacy. If a man as intellectual as Yancey doesn’t have it figured out (and is not ashamed to admit all his shortcomings and failures involved with prayer), then I don’t have to have it all figured out either.

While I would love to write about everything the book has taught me, I wanted to include a short excerpt from the book. The except is in fact not even from Yancey. The information is from a footnote by David Maims in Yancey’s book. Here’s what it says:

Checklist to Make Sure Prayers are on Target:  

1. What do I really want? Am I being specific, or am I just rambling about nothing in particular?
2. Can God grant this request? Or is it against God’s nature to do so?
3. Have I done my part? Or am I praying to lose weight when I haven’t dieted?
4. How is my relationship with God? Are we on speaking terms?
5. Who will get the credit if my request is granted? Do I have God’s interests in mind?
6. Do I really want my prayer answered? What would happen if I actually did get that girlfriend back?