A question around prayer

GreekOrthodox said:

Here is one prayer for enemies

Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst command us to love our enemies, and those who defame and injure us, and to pray for them and forgive them; Who Thyself didst pray for Thine enemies who crucified Thee: Grant us, we pray, the spirit of Christian reconciliation and meekness, that we may heartily forgive every injury and be reconciled with our enemies. Grant us to overcome the malevolence and offences of people with Christian meekness and true love of our neighbor. We further beseech Thee, O Lord, to grant to our enemies true peace and forgiveness of sins; do not allow them to leave this life without true faith and sincere conversion. And help us repay evil with goodness, and to remain safe from the temptations of the devil and from all the perils which threaten us, in the form of visible and invisible enemies. Amen.

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GreekOrthodox said:

It's not going to affect you. As Orthodox (and other liturgical Christians) we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross.

St. Cyrill
Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow, and on everything; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we rise up; when we are in the way, and when we are still. Great is that preservative; it is without price, for the sake of the poor; without toil, for the sick; since also its grace is from God. It is the Sign of the faithful, and the dread of devils: for He triumphed over them in it, having made a shew of them openly; for when they see the Cross they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, who bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise not the Seal, because of the freeness of the gift; out for this the rather honour thy Benefactor.

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GreekOrthodox said:

It is really up to you. I typically make the sign at the start and end of something. So when I wake up and start my prayers for the day, Ill make the sign. Get to work and sit down to prepare for the day, starting a new project, lunch, midday prayers, etc. It is normally just a quick prayer, like the Orthodox Triagion (Three Holies)

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (x3)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen

or the Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord, have mercy.

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com7fy8 said:

I think we can pray for evil people without sharing in the evil stuff that is within them.

Jesus on the cross prayed for the evil ones who in their hate and rage were still busy with torturing and hating and murdering Jesus who is God's own Son. Jesus said . . . in prayer >

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (in Luke 23:34)

So, Jesus in His prayer did not allow those evil people to decide how Jesus was and what Jesus did!

What I see is how Jesus in His prayer could be spreading how He is and how He loves, to them so they could be changed to how Jesus is and loves. He was doing this, for us . . . now, even, according to what I get through Ephesians 5:2 >

"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2)

I mean, I have learned that Jesus on the cross was being our example, so He could spread this to us, now today, to minister for us to become and to love the way Jesus on the cross was being and loving . . . being sweetly pleasing to our Father, right while going through all that, and kindly and caringly loving any and all people, with hope of adopting us as His own family.

This is where the attention of Jesus was, on the cross, during His prayer, I now can see.

So, among other things . . . in prayer we can trust God to change us to become the way He wants to spread to other people. And in the sight of God be this example, for Him to spread the grace of this to change others also to become and love like Jesus as God's family.

And then we are ready for love, with each and every person we see and think of and share with during the day We are each person's best friend, by being every one's example of how to be and how to love, so this can spread to any person.

And yes God's grace of this is almighty, able to change the character of any person to become pleasing to God like Jesus is so pleasing, plus to be compassionate with hope for any wrong person > love "hopes all things" > in 1 Corinthians 13:7.

This is easy and basic for God's grace to do, because God in us is almighty >

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

God in His grace of our prayer, then, is greater than any and all of Satan's horrible stuff.

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)

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