A few years ago, I received an email stating that I needed to renew a security app. It looked legitimate and included a telephone number to call to complete the transaction. After dialing the number on my landline, I became involved in a conversation with a person whose ultimate intentions were unclear. For some reason, though, I didn’t heed my initial intuition to end the call. 

Finding myself embroiled in a situation that was likely illegitimate and could be costly, I told the man that I wanted nothing to do with it. But I still didn’t feel I should hang up. He argued persuasively, and I realized that I needed to take this to God—to pray. 

It became obvious to me that this was a case of needing to follow Jesus’ teaching “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).