- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Sometimes the beleaguered saint prays against a situation. David prayed against those whom were oppressing him and his people. Jeremiah prayed against those whom were slandering and harassing him. Prayers against a situation or enemy are called "imprecatory prayer." As Mark Moore explains,
"They were not merely asking God to hear. They were asking him to attend to the problem. It is when you ask God to put the hurt on your enemy so justice will be served and the righteous vindicated. The verbiage is often brutal (e.g., Psa 58:6–11, 59:5, 13; 109:6–15; 137:8–9; 139:19–22)." One example of harsh language in appeal to the LORD for righting wrongs is uttered by David in Psalm 139:19
"If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies."
David was a sinner but he was a righteous man, and a King from whom the LORD saw fit to descend our Savior. Was David wrong to pray against his enemies, who he noted were actually enemies of God? Was he being "hateful"? No. Those who love the LORD hate sin and injustice, especially when it is done against the innocent.
Imprecatory prayer is not selfish, though. It does not ask your neighbor to die in a car crash because he ran over your dog. It is not asking the Lord to smite your boss because he made you work on Saturday. Imprecatory prayer is serious, and needs to be done thoughtfully and sensitively.
On December 16, 2009, Reps. Michele Bachmann and Randy Forbes and Sens. Jim DeMint and Sam Brownback joined forces with Lou Engle, Tony Perkins, Jim Garlow, and Harry Jackson for a "prayercast" organized by the Family Research Council during which they sought God's intervention to prevent the passage of healthcare reform. These were pleas to God, and not even imprecatory prayers, particularly.
They did this because "Life and death hinges on the Senate health care bill. We face significant threats to the God-given right to human life through government funding of abortions, our health from rationing, our family finances from higher taxes, and our general freedoms posed by the government plan to take over health care. ... Tonight, we will face this moral crisis by taking action and obeying the Biblical mandate to pray for our nation and its leaders." Perkins said.
This is what they prayed:
James Dobson's prayer: "I just pray that You will frustrate the plans of the Evil One, and revive us again with conviction and forgiveness. Show us how we can further your cause, Lord and advance your kingdom, and we will be careful to give you the praise. Just begin a revival in our hearts that will restore us as one nation under God."
James Dobson's other prayer: "Heavenly Father, the principles of righteousness that you taught us are just being abandoned now by our governmental leaders. And if they prevail in the measures that they‘re now considering, even more babies will die. More than 50 million already have. And in other measures, the institution of marriage itself, will be destroyed."
Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN) thanked the Lord for the Godly men and women who are in public life, and asked forgiveness for government leaders that haven't looked to God.
Is it wrong to pray to God to intervene to affect government? No. "[T]he Bible's very clear that prayer affects government," said Engle. "Esther's three-day fast changed public policy; Daniel's fast changed public policy; and it's the same, yesterday, today and forever, and that's why we're here."
These are not hateful prayers. Their pleas are agreeing with God. Far from being small-minded and wrathful, these Christians are appealing to a righteous God in a righteous format. So. Did it work?
Ask yourself, is it coincidence that two days later a Paralyzing Snowstorm Clobbers Washington, D.C., to Providence ? That a blizzard rose up and put a stop to everything? God does use disasters for His purposes. To cause obedience in Jonah. To punish wicked nations through famine or drought. To send for a witness to His power. He has always used storms for His purposes and He said He would do the same in the end time.
Snow is actually falling at 2+ inches an hour in DC. Senators have scattered in advance of the storm, and others who didn't make it out are sleeping on cots. Senators have had to scurry to obtain the necessary 60 votes to pass the bill. For a while Friday night the situation in the halls of the Senate was in disarray. And while the disarray continues, so does the snow. One meteorologist wrote: "I want to caution and alert everyone reading this blog to the fact that there will be some INTENSE SNOW BANDS, narrow in width and perhaps isolated in nature, forming around dinnertime (4 PM to 7 PM Saturday). These BANDS will have the potential to make 1 to 3 FEET look like child's play." Above: the Watergate building in Washington DC.
Is it coincidence that as powerful and mature saints of Christ cried out for the failure of health care reform, a snowpocalypse occurred? Is it a coincidence that just as those in government were about to vote for a bill that contained known abominations to God, snowmageddon happened? I do not know if Snowmageddon 2009 is a direct result of God's intervention, or not. Only God knows. Personally I think it is not a coincidence. Government-sanctioned child-murder was an abomination to God in Molech's day and it still is now: "I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name."
At some point, the obvious causal relationships between our sinful state and the natural and supernatural disasters visited upon us will be too obvious to ignore. We know that even at the end of time when it is more than obvious what is happening is Divinely wrought that people will still not repent. But there is still time, now. Repent means to be sincerely sorry for your sin, for going against God, and asking Him to forgive you. Then turn in the other direction, away from your sin and toward God. He will lead you and light your path.
Healthcare reform may or may not be passed today. In my opinion, though, either way, God has let us know what He thinks of government sanctioned usury, murder, and oppression. Just as He always has.
"They were not merely asking God to hear. They were asking him to attend to the problem. It is when you ask God to put the hurt on your enemy so justice will be served and the righteous vindicated. The verbiage is often brutal (e.g., Psa 58:6–11, 59:5, 13; 109:6–15; 137:8–9; 139:19–22)." One example of harsh language in appeal to the LORD for righting wrongs is uttered by David in Psalm 139:19
"If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies."
David was a sinner but he was a righteous man, and a King from whom the LORD saw fit to descend our Savior. Was David wrong to pray against his enemies, who he noted were actually enemies of God? Was he being "hateful"? No. Those who love the LORD hate sin and injustice, especially when it is done against the innocent.
Imprecatory prayer is not selfish, though. It does not ask your neighbor to die in a car crash because he ran over your dog. It is not asking the Lord to smite your boss because he made you work on Saturday. Imprecatory prayer is serious, and needs to be done thoughtfully and sensitively.
On December 16, 2009, Reps. Michele Bachmann and Randy Forbes and Sens. Jim DeMint and Sam Brownback joined forces with Lou Engle, Tony Perkins, Jim Garlow, and Harry Jackson for a "prayercast" organized by the Family Research Council during which they sought God's intervention to prevent the passage of healthcare reform. These were pleas to God, and not even imprecatory prayers, particularly.
They did this because "Life and death hinges on the Senate health care bill. We face significant threats to the God-given right to human life through government funding of abortions, our health from rationing, our family finances from higher taxes, and our general freedoms posed by the government plan to take over health care. ... Tonight, we will face this moral crisis by taking action and obeying the Biblical mandate to pray for our nation and its leaders." Perkins said.
This is what they prayed:
James Dobson's prayer: "I just pray that You will frustrate the plans of the Evil One, and revive us again with conviction and forgiveness. Show us how we can further your cause, Lord and advance your kingdom, and we will be careful to give you the praise. Just begin a revival in our hearts that will restore us as one nation under God."
James Dobson's other prayer: "Heavenly Father, the principles of righteousness that you taught us are just being abandoned now by our governmental leaders. And if they prevail in the measures that they‘re now considering, even more babies will die. More than 50 million already have. And in other measures, the institution of marriage itself, will be destroyed."
Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN) thanked the Lord for the Godly men and women who are in public life, and asked forgiveness for government leaders that haven't looked to God.
Is it wrong to pray to God to intervene to affect government? No. "[T]he Bible's very clear that prayer affects government," said Engle. "Esther's three-day fast changed public policy; Daniel's fast changed public policy; and it's the same, yesterday, today and forever, and that's why we're here."
These are not hateful prayers. Their pleas are agreeing with God. Far from being small-minded and wrathful, these Christians are appealing to a righteous God in a righteous format. So. Did it work?
Ask yourself, is it coincidence that two days later a Paralyzing Snowstorm Clobbers Washington, D.C., to Providence ? That a blizzard rose up and put a stop to everything? God does use disasters for His purposes. To cause obedience in Jonah. To punish wicked nations through famine or drought. To send for a witness to His power. He has always used storms for His purposes and He said He would do the same in the end time.
Snow is actually falling at 2+ inches an hour in DC. Senators have scattered in advance of the storm, and others who didn't make it out are sleeping on cots. Senators have had to scurry to obtain the necessary 60 votes to pass the bill. For a while Friday night the situation in the halls of the Senate was in disarray. And while the disarray continues, so does the snow. One meteorologist wrote: "I want to caution and alert everyone reading this blog to the fact that there will be some INTENSE SNOW BANDS, narrow in width and perhaps isolated in nature, forming around dinnertime (4 PM to 7 PM Saturday). These BANDS will have the potential to make 1 to 3 FEET look like child's play." Above: the Watergate building in Washington DC.Is it coincidence that as powerful and mature saints of Christ cried out for the failure of health care reform, a snowpocalypse occurred? Is it a coincidence that just as those in government were about to vote for a bill that contained known abominations to God, snowmageddon happened? I do not know if Snowmageddon 2009 is a direct result of God's intervention, or not. Only God knows. Personally I think it is not a coincidence. Government-sanctioned child-murder was an abomination to God in Molech's day and it still is now: "I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name."
At some point, the obvious causal relationships between our sinful state and the natural and supernatural disasters visited upon us will be too obvious to ignore. We know that even at the end of time when it is more than obvious what is happening is Divinely wrought that people will still not repent. But there is still time, now. Repent means to be sincerely sorry for your sin, for going against God, and asking Him to forgive you. Then turn in the other direction, away from your sin and toward God. He will lead you and light your path.
Healthcare reform may or may not be passed today. In my opinion, though, either way, God has let us know what He thinks of government sanctioned usury, murder, and oppression. Just as He always has.
Comments
Post a Comment