Get 'Em God!

Hey this is Mike Swick from if not for God podcast our show stories of hopelessness turned and I hope your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing The Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything urgent prayer. Dr. James Banks path of the best-selling and many other books on prayer provides weekly biblical insight help you learn to mom and now some of the prayers of David. Some of them are prayers against his enemies, and he's not exactly loving say when he prays of James you've written some books on praying the prayer of the Bible so you know what you what you do with prayers like that.

That's a great question Robin. I wanted to talk about that because of a missionary asked me that question recently. Those prayers are called imprecatory prayers and that means basically to pray for something bad to happen to someone great example of this is found in Psalm 35 for David prays in verse eight may ruin over take them by surprise me that they hid in painful them in Psalm 56 he prays break the teeth in their mouth so God in and you read that you just say ouch you wonder if Whitman is it ever okay to pray a prayer like that and if it isn't, why would God allow that to be included in his word and the short answer is that these prayers show SPM media confrontation good with evil.

We have to remember that David was unjustly targeted and pursued by Saul and later by his own son and his forces so at the heart of these prayers you also see a cry for help. Their reaction to something else that is happening and David was also coming up against some real darkness and practices of the nations he was facing. Yesterday was human sacrifice, child sacrifice some horrible things but there's a lot of the battle between good and evil here and what I think real question that was on on our minds as we look at these prayers is okay for us to pray like that currently have 10 of these prayers in the Bible just in the Psalms alone. I think about it.

We've all been through the circumstances where we want to pray get him.you know that's just human nature. But the ultimate answer as to how to handle prayers like this has to come from Jesus himself went on the crops he prayed, forgive them father for they do not know what they are doing now. This is really helpful for us to think about our current political climate canceled culture where so many are tempted to react to resist instead of first asking what does God want me to do yet having some as we can lose sight of the fact that were citizens of the kingdom of heaven first and that's where our deepest delete flies so that means we let him lead us and help us stand against evil, and to do that, you know, we have to take the full counsel of Scripture in which Jesus tells us to love our enemies is the ultimate goal is to encourage others to come to him and discover the real love and life that only he can see James what you think the scriptural approach is when you come up against evil, including evil people in your own life will.

Jesus clearly teaches us to pray that we will be delivered from so you know that much that we can go that far. If you look at the response of the church in acts.

There's this prayer against the enemies of the church and ask for 29 and I think this prayer really sums it up. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness of the two things going on there. I think it's a great model prayer because it's basically praying for strength to stay faithful to keep following God to keep reaching the word.

You know, but it's also saying, consider this. You don't look at this Lord see what's happening here. Makes me think of Romans 1219 says do not take offense, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written is mine to avenge, I will repay system with the early believers were doing when they prayed now, Lord, consider their threats innovate, they just laid the whole situation out before God, and I think Scripture makes clear that we really can't pray Lord do something to stop this evil but but we leave to him entirely. What that will be. That's what Scripture indicates when it says that were to leave room for God's wrath yes and asked this but whatever. Let's go there you ever prayed that way about someone. Yes, I have Robbie and it was a very difficult place. It was when my daughter was a runaway and there was someone who really encouraged her in that keeping her in harms way and this is a place we have to tread so carefully you hear someone who was harming one of my children and I was so angry and I wanted to react and do something. I mean you know as a dad I wanted to do something physical, and I knew that would be wrong and that wasn't what God wanted.

So just poured out the situation to him including all my anger and frustration you know and as a dad not being able to do anything I asked him better but I pleaded with him about it. Without getting into specifics a couple days later something happened and I was really made aware of the fact that God watches over his people in his own wisdom in the way.

Again we have to leave room for for him to act, but he helps us as we call on him, but looking back you know really that was more of a prayer of deliverance, then saying get him God know God's word reminds us in Romans 1214 lesson do not curse them and that verse begins with the words, bless those who persecute you, so he really shows us where he wants our hearts to be in this, but it's not easy. It should take that a step further. Jesus in Matthew 544 through 45. Pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your father in heaven. So when you look at the imprecatory prayers and Psalms. I think it's important to you, file them with the understanding that David was a warrior, but Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God's truth, so we have to follow Jesus.

Now what we can learn from David and Asaph, who also wrote them is to give every emotion, including and especially our anger to God and then let the peace of Christ rule in the hearts and I think assuming where we can do that just poured out before him, you know, if you go on.

Matthew 545. Jesus says that God causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust and he will sort it all about you know the best place for our anger is really in his hands.

Thanks James.

Let me prayer that we will bring everything to him.

So Jesus, thank you so much for this inside and I pray that you would help us to be free to tell you all we really are thinking but then also freely release that you handle it as we ask you for guidance really are asked this engage all of us in this kind hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you to pray. This is the Truth Network. One of our generous sponsors here. The Truth Network has come under fire fire from the enemy fire for standing up for family values. Actually one of the biggest supporters of the movie unplanned that talked about the horrors of abortion. Yes, it's Mike Lindell you verbally talk about his pillows for a long long time and no doubt big business is responding to Mike Lindell and all this generosity for causes for the kingdom by trying to shut down his business. You can't buy pillows at Kohl's anymore. You can get them on Amazon or you can get them at Cosco there attempting to close his business because he stood up for kingdom values. What a chance to respond, especially if you need a pillow live had my now for years and years and years and still fluffs up as wonderful as ever. Queen-size pillows are just 2998. Be sure and use the promo code truth or call 1-800-944-5396 that's 1-800-944-5396.

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