How am I supposed to pray for people I hate?

Tomorrow, more than 200 people from the church in the Philippines I work for are going to go all around Paranaque, Pasay, Taguig, and Makati to pray for the city. Part of their prayer points are to pray for the government officials of those particular cities.

I have to admit that this part of the activity, an event called Operation Overdrive, is going to be difficult for me. The latest shenanigans of our national lawmakers, striking the late-night deals for a constitutional assembly to amend the constitution, have reduced my trust in many of our public servants to cinders. It feels like an absolute betrayal of our public trust.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not necessarily against charter change; there are benefits to having a parliamentary system, although I am more inclined right now to support the status quo. What I take issue with is the secrecy with which our lawmakers handled the events of the past few days. Even yesterday, with the newspaper headlines screaming how each congressman received an additional sum of pork in exchange for their support, one can’t help but feel that we are being railroaded by our public servants.

While I am not even sure if many of those screaming their outrage are even fully aware of the implications of charter change, myself included, one thing is evident: many are unhappy with the two-faced system of governance that has characterized our public service system for many, many years, and it will come to a boil soon. There are fewer things I hate more than people who take advantage of other people for their selfish gain. For some reason, many of these people seem to be ending up in positions of power in our national and local governments.

Which brings me back to Overdrive. We know that God grants the desires of a heart that desires Him, that seeks Him first. An open heart. A sincere heart. How am I supposed to pray for persons who have betrayed me and my nation, who seek to hide things from me in the guise of public service? How am I supposed to pray for their change of heart when my heart itself has not changed in terms of my anger and disdain towards these Filipino turncoats?

I guess I have to go back to Jesus. Jesus prayed all the time for people He didn’t necessarily get along with. I don’t think He hated anyone, but there were people who sought to do Him evil, and He prayed for them. Even on the cross, He begged His Father to forgive those people, saying they were not fully aware of their actions. It was a prayer from a heart that loved people unconditionally.

Some say the opposite of love is not hate, it’s apathy. At this point, I am not apathetic to the Filipino government; I have a great deal of anger towards many in the government, and I think that’s a good place to start. If I am to pray for God to bless the city by blessing its government, I need to look at these people with renewed eyes of love. It won’t be easy, but I certainly will try. If anyone needs prayer right now, it’s every congressman who agreed to that constitutional assembly.

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One Response to “How am I supposed to pray for people I hate?”

1. Jax says:

   June 5, 2009 at 6:18 pm

   Ang hirap talaga, Ganns. You pray and try to understand them. And you hope that they’ll change for the good. But they never fail to disappoint the people. Greed and power has really blinded them na. And it hurts because there are sincere people in the government who really want to help the people out. Pero natatakpan sila ng mga masasamang tao.

   And the sadder part is that we’re supposed to have a national elections again next year. And every year, lalo lang nawawalan ng pag-asa ang mga Pilipino dahil nawawalan na tayo ng tiwala sa gobyerno natin.

   I try to stay positive but it gets harder and harder everyday.

   Pero yun ang kelangan eh. We have to stay positive everyday and we cannot stop praying for our country. One day, we’ll get our wish.

   I agree a positive outlook is so important. I think, though, that if change is to come, we need to actually move. You know, take active steps in our own little way to be part of the solution.