When given a chance,

the Sun

melts ice

every. single. time.

No matter how thick and frozen the heart,

keep praying –

slowly but surely,

the Light does the job.

Love is the most powerful force on earth.

Sure, people have free will to reject even our most heartfelt intentions. And often, we need to protect ourselves from difficult people by setting boundaries.

But, through connection with Divine Love that transcends time and space, we can be gifted with understanding, clarity and peace about even the people, who have hurt us most. If we align ourselves with God’s will, persist in prayer, practice forgiveness and set healthy boundaries, over time we can often see the most hardened of hearts begin to melt right before our eyes.

In Matthew 5 43-47, Jesus made the importance of love crystal clear. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Even when we don’t see the transformations of people we are praying for, we can trust that loving our enemies is the right thing to do. In addition to helping others, prayer transforms us to embody more characteristics of our heavenly Father.

The question is: will we close our hearts to others or will we continue to show our love by praying for the difficult people in our lives?

Have you personally witnessed how hearts can change through persistence in faith and acts of love? Is there a difficult person in your life, who you’re praying for right now? Comment below, and I’ll be delighted to lift your intentions.

Lord, give us the grace to be forgiving and loving towards the difficult people in our lives. Give us the strength to set healthy boundaries, persevere in prayer and stand in Your truth through all of the challenges we face in relationships. When our prayers for others don’t seem to be answered, help us to see how we ourselves are being transformed into Your image and likeness through our continued offerings of Your love to others. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen