Understanding Imprecatory Prayer

 

There are portions of the Bible that many Christians are comfortable reading, and there are portions that make us uncomfortable. Among the passages that trouble many believers are what we call the imprecatory prayers—prayers in which God’s people call upon Him to judge wickedness and deal with His enemies.

Psalm 104:35 says, “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.”

Those are strong words. Yet they are part of the inspired Word of God, and we cannot simply ignore them because they make us uncomfortable.

An imprecation is an appeal to God for judgment or calamity upon the wicked. But we must understand these prayers properly. They are not permission for personal vengeance. They are not an excuse for bitterness, hatred, resentment, or taking matters into our own hands. Properly understood, they are appeals to the righteous Judge of heaven and earth to establish justice, restrain wickedness, vindicate His Word, defend His people, and establish His kingdom.

One of the first things I want us to understand is that there is no conflict here between the Old Testament and the New Testament. We do not have two Gods, two moral systems, or two opposing Bibles. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

Some people read the prayers of David and say, “That is the Old Testament. Jesus taught us to love our enemies.”

Yes, Jesus taught us to love our enemies, but the Old Testament taught the same thing.

Paul writes in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Where did Paul get that teaching?

From Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 32:35 says, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence.”

Paul also tells us that if our enemy is hungry, we are to feed him, and if he is thirsty, we are to give him drink. Again, that teaching did not originate in the New Testament. Proverbs 25:21 says, “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink.”

New Testament grace and Old Testament law are not enemies.

The Bible presents one consistent truth.

When David prayed against his enemies, he left the results entirely in the hands of God. That is extremely important. David did not pray and then form his own execution squad. He appealed to God and allowed God to decide what should happen.

• God might convert an enemy.

• God might restrain him.

• God might remove him temporarily.

• God might remove him permanently.

• That is God’s business.

Our responsibility is to obey God. The consequences belong to Him.

We have a wonderful example of this principle in Saul of Tarsus. If Christians in the first century had looked at Saul while he was persecuting the church, they might have thought there was no hope for that man. Yet God converted him and made him the Apostle Paul.

Therefore, when I pray concerning the enemies of God and His people, I must leave room for the sovereignty of God. I am not telling God how He must answer. I am appealing to Him to act righteously.

There is another important principle we see in David’s life. Although David could pray fiercely against his enemies, his personal conduct toward them could be remarkably gracious.

Saul repeatedly tried to kill David. Yet twice David had opportunities to kill Saul and refused.

Why?

Because David understood the difference between asking God for justice and personally taking vengeance.

David essentially said that Saul’s day would come. God could take him. He could die in battle. His time would come eventually. But David refused to take Saul’s life himself.

That is a lesson we desperately need.

We can pray for God to deal with wickedness without allowing wickedness to enter our own hearts.

When people mistreat us, our natural reaction is to retaliate. If they insult us, we want to insult them. If they attack us, we want to attack them. If they hurt us, we want to hurt them.

But God calls us to something higher.

We are not to render evil for evil.

We must keep our hearts clean.

David makes this clear in Psalm 35. He speaks of enemies who falsely accused him and rewarded him evil for good. Yet when those same people were sick, David said, “My clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting.”

Think about that.

The man praying for God to judge his enemies had previously prayed for those same enemies when they were sick.

That tells me something about imprecatory prayer. It cannot properly come from personal bitterness.

Before I ask God to judge somebody else, I had better examine myself.

David did exactly that.

In Psalm 7 he prayed, “O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands; If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me… Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it.”

David was appealing to God with clean hands.

That ought to frighten us away from careless praying.

I cannot mistreat someone and then call upon God to punish him for responding to my mistreatment. I cannot act wickedly myself and then pretend that I am standing on the side of righteousness.

Imprecatory prayer demands self-examination.

It also demands humility.

Proverbs 24:17 says, “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.”

Why?

“Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.”

Even when God judges wickedness, I must guard my heart against pride. I am not supposed to say, “Good! He got what he deserved!” I am supposed to remain humble before God. Why, then, should we pray these prayers at all?

First, because we ought to desire righteousness.

David prayed in Psalm 7:9, “Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just.”

That should be the desire of every Christian.

Do we want righteousness established in our homes? Do we want righteousness established in our churches? Do we want righteousness established in our nation? Do we want righteousness established in our own lives?

Then we ought to pray for wickedness to be restrained and righteousness to prevail.

Second, these prayers seek the honor and glory of God.

When God delivers His people, He should receive the praise.

David said, “I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.”

How many times has God protected us when we knew nothing about the danger? How many accidents have we avoided? How many dangers have passed without our knowledge? How many times has God preserved our lives?

We will never know this side of eternity.

When God delivers us, we should praise Him.

Third, imprecatory prayers remind the world that there is a God who judges in the earth.

Psalm 58 declares, “Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.”

Modern man likes to imagine that he can ignore God without consequence.

He cannot.

God will be known.

Some will know Him through salvation.

Others will know Him through judgment.

But He will be known.

Fourth, these prayers declare the sovereignty of God.

Psalm 59:13 says, “Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth.”

God is still on the throne. Governments do not dethrone Him. Political leaders do not dethrone Him. Enemies do not overthrow His eternal purpose. God rules.

Fifth, judgment may cause some people to seek God.

Psalm 83 contains severe language concerning the enemies of God, but it also gives this purpose: “Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.”

Sometimes mercy does not awaken a man. Sometimes prosperity does not awaken him. Sometimes ease does not awaken him.

But judgment does.

There are people who do not begin looking toward heaven until everything underneath them begins shaking.

Finally, learning to pray these prayers should teach us to hate sin.

This may be the most important lesson of all.

If I pray for God to judge wickedness in another man, I had better be certain that I am not cherishing the same wickedness in myself.

David prayed in Psalm 139, “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee?” But notice what he prayed immediately afterward:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me.”

That is the balance.

“Lord, deal with wickedness.”

Then:

“Lord, begin with me.”

I cannot sincerely ask God to establish righteousness in the earth while resisting righteousness in my own life.

I cannot ask Him to judge rebellion while tolerating rebellion in my heart.

I cannot ask Him to expose wickedness while hiding my own sin.

Properly understood, imprecatory prayer should make me more humble, more obedient, more careful, and more holy.

These prayers seek to see the justice of God vindicated, the Word of God honored, the kingdom of God established, the righteousness of God prevailing, and the name of God glorified.

That is why the prayer, “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more,” is ultimately connected with another prayer familiar to every Christian:

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

• I want God’s kingdom established.

• I want His righteousness to prevail.

• I want His enemies restrained.

• I want sinners brought to repentance.

• I want wickedness brought to an end.

But as I pray for those things, I must also pray:

“Search me, O God.”

Before I look at the wickedness around me, I must allow God to deal with the wickedness within me.

May God teach us to pray with clean hands, a clean heart, humility before Him, and a genuine desire that His name be glorified and His righteous will be done on earth as it is in heaven.