Step 5 of Agape Prayer Practice

Some people think the 5th step is the most difficult of the 7 steps in this series of the Agape Prayer practice, and so it requires a little different treatment.

This time when you expand the prayer practice to include one more person, choose to pray for a person who has done something irritable to you, or who might feel hostile toward you (even as an enemy).

As Jesus said, “But I say to you, share agape with your enemies and pray for those who harass you because of your faith so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. … Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing agape to everyone, so also you must be complete. … Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. … Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. … Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. … You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer; but if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. ... I give you a new commandment: Agapao each other. Just as I have agapan you, so you also must share agape with each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (Mt. 5:44-48, 7-39; Jn. 13:34-35)

(In case you are unable to immediately bring someone to mind as your choice for this step, try thinking through your acquaintances, and if someone comes to mind who you hesitate about when considering that person’s well-being, choose that person to pray for.)

It helps if you practice praying for this person as you did for the person in Step 3 -- for the spiritual power of agape to flow in the life of this person until you can genuinely feel the ‘soft, warm,’ comforting feeling of agape for them. Truly pray for the well-being of this person.

Feel the emotion of sharing in agape with this person. Feel the power of agape flowing into the center of the person’s being. Imagine that person being drawn close to and opening up to both the personal Presence and vastness of eternity. Desire that person to find personal well-being and deep sense of joy and peace. Practice Step 5 until you are able to honestly and truly think of this person equally as you do about all the people in the other steps.

As the Agape Prayer Practice develops for you, it helps to constantly keep realizing that these steps are only possible because agape does not originate with you, but is actually the way the divine Presence is made manifest to all that God creates. Obviously, this prayer practice should lead to action -- to the power of agape actually flowing through your life’s work, out to actively helping the lives of people.