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The commands from Jesus here are incredibly challenging. He’s calling us as His followers to step out of our comfort zones and do something that feels completely opposite of our instincts. He’s calling us to love the people in our lives who are hardest to love! The ones who have hurt us, misunderstood us, disappointed us—those are the people Jesus wants us to love. The bad news? That’s not going to be easy! The good news? We don’t have to figure it out alone! Here, Jesus even gave us a place to start: with prayer!

One of the best ways we can love those in our lives we’re struggling to love is to pray for them. When we actively take those people before God, we’re practicing loving our enemies in a real, tangible way. That’s because prayer changes our hearts. It helps us connect with God, and it has a way of changing our perspective about ourselves and others. So, as we pray for those we consider to be our enemies, we’re really stepping into an opportunity to see God not only change the person on the other end of our prayers, but for God to change our own hearts as well. This week, commit to praying for an “enemy” in your life who is hard to love. As you do, watch how God not only changes your heart toward them, but how God changes your heart as a whole as you pray.