God's Help {Psalm 79}
12:00 AM
April
2, 2019
Psalm
79 is an imprecatory prayer. Imprecate
means “to invoke evil upon or curse” ones enemies (gotquestions.org). There are many imprecatory Psalms (5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59,
69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, 140).
In this Psalm, it refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, the residents,
and the Temple. Last week, President
Trump visited Grand Rapids (where I live & work) and the response to how it
affected the visitors and residents reminded me of this Psalm. For reasons we do not know, pagan people
often are allowed to scoff at believers.
We should be prepared for criticism, jokes and unkind remarks because
God does not place us beyond the attacks of scoffers.
Do you have a social issue you are compelled to pray for or get involved
in?
·
Right to Life
·
Meals for Everyone
·
Medical Care/Coverage
·
Religious freedom/persecuted church
·
Gender Exclusion
·
Same Sex Marriage
·
Fair Wages
·
Land Conservation
Whatever issue you are focused on, be aware that you should not be
seeking vengeance on your enemies. These
prayers you find in many of the Psalms are not about getting even or paying
back your enemies. It should be your
prayer that God would act justly in dealing with your transgressors. There’s a big difference between vindication
and vindictiveness.
These prayers emphasize God’s disgust of evil, His sovereignty over all
mankind, and His divine protection over
His chosen people.
Using imprecatory prayers should only be done against our spiritual
enemies (Ephesians 6:12). If you find
yourself in an unjust situation, make sure you are not using these prayers
out of context.
Jesus exhorts us to pray FOR
our enemies (Matthew 5:44-48; Luke 6:27-38), but praying for something bad to
happen to them or for even their death, is not what this means.
Instead, we are to pray for their
salvation first and foremost, and then for God’s will to be done. There’s no greater blessing than a personal
relationship with Jesus, and that’s what Jesus means about praying for and
blessing those who curse us.
Sunday at church, we heard the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) and
I truly know the ache of wanting a child to return to their Christian
upbringing. Anyone who has ever wandered
away, or who has had a wayward child, knows what this is like. I know that it’s not the death of my child I
desire, but the death of their sin, and to rise to new life in Christ.
A
few weeks ago, I wrote about Anger, and how to pray for someone who is Stuck In Sin.
I would encourage you all to seek God’s help in His Word – it truly is
our only Life Line.
Wandering with Jesus,
Lisa Thayer
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