Increase in Imprecatory prayers ?

[HaMetumtam]

I just wondering if anyone has noticed in their prayer life an increase of Imprecatory type praying. My main reason for saying this is the gay agenda which is forcing itself on the education of children and also cutting off counseling for young people also and no i read that " A judge has controversially ruled that Northern Ireland must allow gay couples to adopt children, despite widespread opposition." and the list could go on and on.

This is not an excuse for an anti gay rant but a depressing acceptance of the overwhelming power of this agenda and the helplessness of the poor and afflicted who will suffer (poor and afflicted in regards of rights and legislation that are being forced on them).

So with this in mind are your prayers taking on a more Imprecatory theme ?


Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.

 

[a mere housewife]

I think perhaps some nuance must be added in understanding that these are the prayers of Christ, the judge? -- and that many were written by one in a typical position of judgment. Just a thought. We do not have that position, though we do cry that the Lord would do His work of defending the oppressed. I think to some degree that work of judgment we are crying for is surprisingly the work of judgment He already accomplished on the cross, bearing away the sins of many offenders (as He has ours). When it comes to our own particular enemies, to fellow sinners and debtors against God, I think we ought to be very careful not to pray imprecations unless we are able to reconcile it with zealously praying/practicing this:

Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. . . . but love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven . . .

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Has there been an increase in prayers for conversions and changes of heart, that such impositions might be removed from society in a gracious way, that leaves the guilty with room to repent?

1) I think our cries for judgment rather than mercy should be tempered by the remembrance that we ourselves were spared.

2) I don't think we should pray for judgment, except they be added with "Thy will be done," after much pleading for his copious mercies have gone before.

3) I think that such tear-laden entreaties for justice should be wrung from our generally unwilling lips by circumstances of true affliction.

The great question for us, as Christians, is "Do I love these, mine (and thine) enemies?"

 

[HaMetumtam]

I did type a footnote to explain the difference between the destruction of agendas and plans and highlight it was not the destruction of people. But i deleted it as I thought as a professing Christian this mindset would be axiomatic.

 

[earl40]

I believe this is a valid and good question. As I grow older I have learned a few things in my life.

#1 I find it rather rare that The Lord grants repentance to most later in life.
#2 This also applies to those in authority in that it is rare they change their mind for the good even while being unrepentant.
#3 I have to guard my heart knowing that I am no different than an unbeliever before I believed....but with this guard up I realize the two points above usually are true.

So in essence I think that an increase in imprecatory may be appropriate.

 

[Kim G]

The longer I live, the more I see my sinfulness, and the less likely I am to pray for judgment on others when I have been shown such mercy.

 

[TylerRay]

I did type a footnote to explain the difference between the destruction of agendas and plans and highlight it was not the destruction of people. But i deleted it as I thought as a professing Christian this mindset would be axiomatic.

That makes all the difference in the world. When it comes to wicked agendas, organizations, etc., imprecate away.

 

[MW]

Who is the "Anointed" being unjustly treated so as to require a vindication of His claim and right? Surely it is the slighted and blasphemed witness of Christ that calls for the manifestation of divine justice.

As far as I can see, the toleration and widespread practice of homosexuality is itself a manifestation of divine justice upon a nation for its rejection of the claims of Christ, Who is the Prince of the kings of the earth.

 

[Christusregnat]

Imprecatory Psalms are a sort of litmus test for how firmly we are convinced of the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture. Pray on for the glory of God's justice.

 

[timmopussycat]

I tend not to pray the imprecatory psalms, the petitions of the long form of the Lord's prayer cover the same ground in a way more appropriate for most situations. When we ask for God's kingdom to be manifest on earth the same way that it is in heaven, the inevitable corollary to our request is the frustration of the plans of God's enemies and either their conversions or their removal from the earth.

 

[R Harris]

In Psalm 9, the writer states that all the nations that forget God are heading for the abyss. He then asks the Lord to strike terror within them, in order that the nations may know that they are mere men.

Has our nation, and indeed the vast majority of nations on this earth, as a whole forgotten God? The answer should be obvious. Have they done their best to break the bands and cast away the cords of God and His Anointed (Psalm 2)? Of course they have.

Yes, we should pray, for the honor and glory of the Lord, that He show them that they are mere men. in my opinion, it is only by doing so that they will seek repentance. Sadly, it has gotten to that point.

Mathematically, we are anywhere from 3-5 years away from a major, global financial cataclysm. Some will argue that it is much sooner than that. Are the nations' political and financial elite crying to the Lord for His deliverance? Hardly.

We live in very scary and troubling times on many fronts, because men have arrogantly and wickedly cast off any notion of the Lord as sovereign whatsoever. And we will soon be paying the price for it.

 

[Gavin]

I don't think the "adopt a terrorist for prayer" would follow you.

 

[Peairtach]

I do pray for the plans of the wicked to be overthrown or misfire, alongside praying that many will be converted.

But with Daniel, I recognise that the sins of my country of Scotland, and also more widely, the United Kingdom, in which sins I share in measure, deserve all that is coming on us, which includes spiritual blindness, and widespread acceptance of sexual immorality and perversion.

The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. (Deut 28:28-29, ESV)

 

[kappazei]

I pray the imprecatory psalms but only against spiritual forces of evil. Not to ask God for judgment on people. Heaven forbid.

 

[SolaScriptura]

Has there been an increase in prayers for conversions and changes of heart, that such impositions might be removed from society in a gracious way, that leaves the guilty with room to repent?

1) I think our cries for judgment rather than mercy should be tempered by the remembrance that we ourselves were spared.

2) I don't think we should pray for judgment, except they be added with "Thy will be done," after much pleading for his copious mercies have gone before.

3) I think that such tear-laden entreaties for justice should be wrung from our generally unwilling lips by circumstances of true affliction.

The great question for us, as Christians, is "Do I love these, mine (and thine) enemies?"

Great reminder, Bruce.

 

[rbcbob]

I did type a footnote to explain the difference between the destruction of agendas and plans and highlight it was not the destruction of people. But i deleted it as I thought as a professing Christian this mindset would be axiomatic.

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