Page 85 - Psalms Ebook

Lord, help me do well in my job today and help me catch the criminal.
How would a judge pray? Lord, help me be just and right and put that
man away. If he has committed a capital offense, how should you pray?
The guy who pulls the switch, he wants to do a good job, and he prays if
he is a Christian. And so, David was the king. So, when he prayed he
was also the lawgiver and the governor and it makes a little difference
when you tie it into his particular employment. If I am a policeman or if
I am a military soldier or a sailor or an officer, if I am a chief justice, if I
am a judge, if I am an FBI agent, I am going to pray and I will be praying
imprecatory prayers.

Let me wrap it up with a couple of thoughts. And, really, I have given
you all the light I have on this. When I am done here I have emptied my
tank. This is all I know. This is a great section of Scripture, and it is a
puzzling section. I say it is one of the three puzzling things. But here is
what it has done in my heart. Ask God to ground you thoroughly in His
holiness. I think these prayers are rooted in the holiness and in the
justice of God. I do not think they violate “Turn the other cheek” or
“Love your enemy,” but they are rooted in the holiness of God and they
are for warfare. It is almost like going to battle. Find the strong man so
you can go in and spoil his goods.

I do not think you can pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven” without automatically praying against the enemies of God’s
will. When you pray for righteousness, you are praying against the
unrighteous. When you pray for justice, you are praying against the
unjust. I think a lot of times these are just negative ways of claiming a
personal victory. When you are saying bring down my enemy, you are
saying bring me victory. So that is my first suggestion. Just ask God to
help you be rooted in the holiness of God and in His character.

And then as always, and God help me never to forget to remind myself
and you, do not get prayer centered. Do not get imprecatory prayer
centered. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Keep your eye on the glory of
God. If you are looking to the Lord, He is going to guide you in your
prayer. I just think that you would be missing a blessing if some times
your prayers are not sprinkled with this negative flavoring. Someone
you love very much, maybe a family member or a neighbor or somebody
very dear, might need some tough prayer. You might be led to ask the
Lord to bring something in their life to slow them down or bring them
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