Psalm 69:22-29
22 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap.
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.
24 Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27 Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain— may your salvation, God, protect me. [1]
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This is one of those sections that at first glance seems very difficult to pray. How do we pray these words? Do we really pray for God to visit this kind of judgment on those who oppose us? What about loving our enemy and praying for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-45)?
We do pray these words, but as the people of God who are intent on following Jesus, we never pray them regarding people. In light of Ephesians 6:10-20, we take to heart the truth that our real enemies are not people but rather the spiritual forces of evil. We are not instructed to pray for the good of satan, or even for his repentance. We pray for deliverance from evil, and the utter victory of God over all evil.
So these words are for us a prayer for the victory of the cross and resurrection to be applied to the forces of evil in our lives. Understood that way, these are good verses to pray, and are just another way to pray “deliver us from evil.”
So my prayer is that satan and all the spiritual forces of evil would be thwarted and overcome this day. I pray for this to be true in my life, in my family, in my church, and in my community.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Ps 69:22–29). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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