Praying for Friends and Enemie

In seven well-written and engaging chapters, Jane Vennard leads the reader through a discussion of the theology, process, effects, and practices of Intercessory Prayer. She states her assumptions clearly as a Christian minister, but does not assume they are the readers; she draws from a depth of understanding but communicates directly with wonderful stories. She tackles the hard questions, and acknowledges there is room for diverse answers. I especially like the sections focused on praying for enemies. Much of our current public discourse world-wide separates people and nations into only two groups - the friends and the enemies. In this view, the friends are usually those like us, who we identify as good in ways we see ourselves as good. The enemies are those who oppose us, in the most extreme those we see as embodying evil. Often the next step is to seek to protect the friends and destroy the enemies. Vennard offers a different world view and call to action - more complex and vastly more hopeful. We are mixed as people and as nations. Good and evil are embodied to varying degrees in all our motives and actions. Praying for friends involves allowing ourselves to be conscious of their imperfections. Praying for enemies helps us become more aware of the context and experiences out of which their actions emerge. We may even come to see in ourselves some of what we find most troubling in them and in them some of what we believe is goodness. And when that occurs, as in other experiences of intercessory prayer, we may be changed and even transformed. Complete with reflection topics at the end of each chapter, this book can help individuals and congregations learn more about how to pray for others. Initially produced as part of a Lutheran curriculum package, it stands alone as a contemporary guide to intercessory prayer.

This book is just what I was looking for. It goes through the various questions and issues one has about intercessory prayer and provides much food for thought. I want to go back to many sections and meditate further on them. I also want to form a group at my church to discuss this book and engage in intercessory prayer together.