Praying With Grace

Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice. (Ezekiel 22:27-29) 
 
When you read Ezekiel 22, you see a long list of sins and immoral deeds committed by the people of the land: violence against women, murder, idolatry, corruption, and injustice.  
 
If we’re being honest, it would be difficult to pray for people who took part in such terrible actions. It’s easy to pray for people who fit your framework of what is morally and ethically right, but it’s harder to pray for people who you believe are living outside the will of God. 
 
For so many of us, our excuse for not praying for people is because of the knowledge we have of what people have done. We think that our knowledge of what people have done is a pretext to disqualify them. For instance, it’s one thing to pray for your colleague when you know he or she goes to church and is faithful to God, but it’s another thing to pray for him or her for being an unfaithful spouse or stealing and ending up in trouble.  
 
To be an intercessor, you have to pray for people, regardless of their situation. And the only way you’ll do that is if you remember that you aren’t morally and spiritually perfect yourself.