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Theme: Have you ever prayed for an enemy or someone who doesn't like you? Listen to a story about David and Saul.
- In Matthew 5:44 Jesus says to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Have you ever prayed for an enemy or someone who doesn't like you?
- Jesus is clear that we are to love and pray for those who stand in our way. As you listen to this episode, think about all of the times that Saul stood in the way of David and all of the ways that David loved Saul even though Saul was his enemy.
After you listen
Memory Verse
“This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’”
Quiz
A: Bread and a sword (Goliath’s sword specifically).
A: A piece of his royal robe.
A: Saul’s spear and water jug.
Reflect
It might feel strange to think about having an enemy. But there will always be people who don’t like you for one reason or another. These people might even stand in the way of what God wants you to do. Saul chased David all over Israel trying to kill him. He was David’s enemy—getting in the way of what God intended for David to do. But David wouldn’t return hatred with hatred. Saul actually tried to kill him, even so, when David had the chance to get rid of Saul, he wouldn’t do it. He loved Saul and his family and didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. He realized that to do anything to hurt Saul would be to sin against God. So, when Saul was killed in battle, David actually mourned for him.
When people make your life hard, God wants you to love them and pray for them instead of hating them. Love is God’s response to anger and hatred. He wants you to share his love with everyone in your life, even those who seem hard to love.
You can read more about David in the books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. Want to dig deeper and learn more about loving your enemies? Check out Matthew 7:12, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, and Romans 13:8-10.
Challenge
One thing that David helped remember what God wanted him to do was to write poems and songs to God. Today, we can read many of them in the book of Psalms. One of the Psalms that you heard in this episode was Psalm 23. Memorize Psalm 23 so that you can always remember who God is and what he has done for you.
