“Get ‘Em Lord” Prayers

August 25, 2020 Gracie

“Get ‘Em Lord” Prayers

Hands down, the most popular post on my blog, Delight-in-God.com, is an article I wrote called, “How To Pray For Someone You Don’t Like.”

In that article, Pastor J. Josh Smith shared valuable Biblical insight about how to pray for our enemies.

I’m just gonna say it – praying for God to bless our enemies isn’t easy to do.

Why do we have to do that when a “get ‘em, Lord” prayer feels sooo much better?

get 'em Lord

What’s Wrong With a “Get ‘Em Lord” Prayer?

We want quick justice when we’ve been wronged.

Think about that coworker who stole your idea and got all the credit and the accompanying raise.

Or, the neighbor who lets his dog trample your petunias and use your yard as a community toilet every morning.

Oh, that is so annoying.

Get ‘em, Lord.

From a biblical standpoint, we have to be very, very careful with a “get em” prayer.

A lot of it rides on the nature of the “wrong” we experienced and, very much so, on our intent when asking the Lord for justice.

There’s a huge difference between a mean person who irritates us, and an actual enemy of the faith.

What are Imprecatory Prayers?

Asking God to rain down His wrath on our enemies is called imprecatory prayer.

One of the synonyms for imprecate is to “damn.”

That’s pretty serious business and requires cautious consideration.

We know that the Lord Himself called out enemies of the faith, (the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees), in Matthew 23:31-33.

Imprecatory psalms, from David and others, and the imprecatory pleas in the Book of Jeremiah are some other examples.

Therefore, give their children over to famine
And deliver them up to the power of the sword;
And let their wives become childless and widowed.
Let their men also be smitten to death,
Their young men struck down by the sword in battle. – Jeremiah 18:21, (NASB).¹

That’s a pretty obvious “get ‘em Lord” plea from the prophet Jeremiah.

We have this verse from King David, in Psalm 17:13:

Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low;
Deliver my soul from the wicked with your sword – Psalm 17:13, (NASB).²

David says “with your sword.” – no mistaking what he meant.

Was that wrong of King David to pray that?

There is no taint of personal jealousy, spite, or ambition in these psalms. Rather, there is a deep concern for God’s people. There is a desire for God’s glory to be displayed. In the case of David’s imprecations, those who opposed the king opposed God, because the king was God’s anointed. In the case of the other imprecatory psalms, they are all national, not personal in character. The psalmists in every case had a deep desire that God’s plan might be fulfilled through His people for His glory.

Thus it helps to understand the imprecatory psalms if we view them in light of God’s purpose and in light of the psalmist’s attitude. He was not seeking vengeance or being selfish. Rather, he was asking God to vindicate His people who had been mistreated and to fulfill His plan through them. – Stephen J. Cole, author and theologian.³

What About What Jesus Said at the Sermon on the Mount?

Sermon on the Mount – Source credit, Geralt

On one hand, we have the imprecatory prayers and pleas throughout Bible, and on the other, we also have the very real command from Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount to ”pray for those who persecute you”.

To clarify: His imprecatory prayers were against enemies of the faith.

Using imprecatory prayers from the Psalms today should only be done against our spiritual enemies (Ephesians 6:12). Praying imprecations on human foes is unjustifiable, as it would require taking these prayers out of context. In the New Testament, Jesus exhorts us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44–48; Luke 6:27–38), but praying for their death or for bad things to happen to them isn’t what He meant. Instead, we are to pray for their salvation first and foremost, and then for God’s will to be done. There’s no greater blessing than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that’s what Jesus means by praying for and blessing those who curse us. – Got Questions website.

Seeking Justice and Get ’em Lord Prayers

Vengeance is the Lord’s.

Understandably, we rightly grieve when we see evil in our world, like sexual trafficking, for instance.

Pray against perversion, take a stand, call it out, demand justice and jailing the perpetrators. There’s nothing wrong with that.

God hears those prayers, and He hears the cries of the innocents.

He hates Sin, more than we could ever imagine.

It’s in our nature to seek justice in this fallen world, but it must be on God’s terms within the justice system that He has established, not our personal plans to retaliate.

This is a hard topic, so I hope this is helpful.

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³Steven J. Cole quotation is courtesy of bible.org. from “Psalm 137: Difficult Words, But True” n.d. 1993. Web. Accessed August 19, 2020. Retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-137-difficult-words-true.

⁴ Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What is imprecatory prayer?” n.d., para. 4. Web. Accessed August 19, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.gotquestions.org/imprecatory-prayer.html

Our Exceptional God

Prayers To Disarm Your Enemy

August 22, 2018 Gracie

Why Should We Pray For Our Enemies

Prayers To Disarm Your Enemy

Recently, a reader searched on my blog for the term, “Prayers to disarm your enemy.”

I have to applaud this person for seeking answers using Prayers, rather than some type of payback.

It’s hard sometimes to pray for our enemies.

A few years ago, I interviewed a local pastor for his insight. The name of that article is “How To Pray For Someone You Don’t Like.” You can find it by clicking the link.The pastor’s biblical insight about praying for our enemies is just as valuable today as it was back then.

When someone launches an attack against you, even if it’s verbal, it can hurt really bad.

You feel blindsided and you want answers.

And, you want it…to stop.

As Christians we should pray for those who hate us and/or do us harm. We also know as Christians, that the hate towards us, as believers in salvation through Jesus Christ, is on the rise.

We must continue to pray.

God hears our every words. They don’t have to be eloquent words either.

If you’re suffering at the arms of an enemy, cry out to Jesus in your heart.

Psalm 69 in the Bible is an excellent example of a prayer for help in times of anguish.

Prayers To Disarm Your Enemy

If you need some inspiration when praying for your enemies, I found another resource that may help.

I contacted the author, Beth McLendon, and she has graciously given me permission to share this prayer with you.

I love the plea towards the end for God to heal the wounds of our enemies. As mean as they are, there is something going on inside of them that causes them to act out like they do.

Prayer For Enemies

Lord,

Be with my enemies today as they make decisions.

I ask that you would bring them your thoughts so that they can see

and evaluate their life situations through your wisdom.

I ask that you would help them to clearly hear your thoughts on

what they should do today and every day.

Guide them to recognize the right decision every time.

Help them to recognize the blessings that come from

making good choices and from developing a deep relationship with you.

I pray that they will realize the lightness of heart that they can have

if they will do the right thing.

I pray that they will realize the relief that they can have

when they do the right thing.

Bring your lovingkindness to rescue them from being unkind today.

Urge them not to sin against me or anyone else this day.

I ask that you would heal the wounds inside of them that pressure them to hurt others.

Let them begin to realize the joy of treating others in a godly way.

Bring them thoughts that would help to soften their heart toward you and your will for them.

In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

For more inspirational prayers, you can visit Beth’s website at the following URL: http://www.inspirational-prayers.com/

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*Opening photo courtesy of photographer Ben White on Unsplash

Our Exceptional God

Hurt People Hurt People

May 16, 2016 Gracie

Hurt People Hurt People – You’re Not Seeing Double!

We’ve all come across a nasty person in our lives who could be classified as an enemy. It seems as if this person is bound and determined to destroy our peace and joy.

Why don’t they just leave me alone?

Have you ever asked that question? The harassment can happen at work, online, at a store, or in our daily interactions with aggressive people.

Sometimes the harassment is downright frightening.

They Have Nothing Better To Do

I remember once I had gone on a conservative women’s Facebook website and wrote a positive comment about the excellent work they were doing.

Hurt people hurt people Apparently, there are sharks circling on every website now looking to devour anyone who supports conservative, God-honoring values.

Shortly after I made the comment, I got a threatening message from someone I didn’t recognize. Turns out this “gentleman” had seen my comment and didn’t like it. He called me the most awful, four-letter name that crude people use to describe a woman they don’t like. I was horrified at the language and the other threatening words that he used. This person didn’t even disguise his avatar. This man (and people like him), in internet terms, is commonly called a “troll.” I can’t even imagine the mindset of someone who would purposely seek out a stranger and call them names like that. There must be a deep-rooted misery in this person to strike out like he did. Hurt people, hurt people. It’s a sick world indeed, in need of a Savior.

How Should We Deal With Belligerent People?

So how did I handle this online, very sad, person? At first, I had the immediate reaction of wondering if this attacker knows where I live. After blocking him, I then informed my husband and some friends about the whole incident. It’s a good idea to make people aware if you’ve received a threat of some kind.

hurt people hurt people After I calmed down a bit, I decided to pray for him that night. And I did pray that God would change His life around. Praying helped me feel a lot better.

I don’t know if this man ever turned to God. We can only hope. But, praying was an important step – even though this man had enough anger in his heart to threaten me with violence.

It’s Hard to Pray for Our Enemies

I know firsthand that it’s hard to pray for God to bless our enemies. We don’t pray for them to become rich or anything. We pray for them to learn of His saving grace. It takes practice and it pleases God. Why should we bother?

The Bible tells us to pray for our enemies.
We’re showing obedience to God.
A prayer for our enemy can result in him/her turning to God.

Perspective is Everything

We may never know which of our enemies will have a changed life. But God wants us to pray regardless.

Not one of us is worthy. We all became enemies of God once sin entered the world. But, as Christians, we have the hope of eternal life. Before we became born again as His new creation, how were we any different than our own worst enemy? As painful as it is to think about, all of our sins (yours and mine) sent Jesus to the cross. All of us have access to His saving grace and that includes praying for the salvation of our enemies.

Remember Saul in the Bible, who later became Paul? Saul hated Christianity. He was an instrumental figure in trying to destroy the Church. And yet, he was prayed for by a devout Christian. Saul’s life dramatically changed thanks to God’s providence. What an amazing and inspiring encouragement Paul’s life story is to remind us to pray for our enemies.

I found a wonderful article that demonstrates this very well. Thank you in advance to a talented fellow Christian writer, Abby Kelly.

Who Prayed For Paul?
By Abby Kelly

The headlines ran red. If there were a secret first century parchment bearing news, prayers and encouragement, circulating the dispersed believers, surely it read, ” Steven, our beloved brother in the faith, perished at the hands of Saul and the religious leaders. He breathed his last yet full of the Spirit and testifying to the goodness of Jesus.”

Maybe, John picked up that parchment or maybe he wrote it, heart aching. What a loss for the early church! No doubt Christians across the known world knelt in their homes and small gatherings, praying fervently for Steven’s family, the progress of the Gospel, their own safety and Christ’s soon return. But who prayed for Saul?

The early church knew who was responsible for much of their terror, and God asked them to do the unbelievable. After Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, He approached one of His own, a man named Ananias, and told him to go to Saul and lay his hands on him: ” ‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.’ ” (Acts 9:13, 14)

I wonder about that as our own headlines run red. Every single day we learn of more Christians, more People of the Cross, losing their lives for the name of Jesus. And, I kneel. I kneel by my bed and pray with tears streaming down my face. My emotions boil, a hot alloy of anger, fear, compassion and longing for justice. I lift up the Coptic Christians, those in Syria, Pastor Saeed Abedini, the orphans, the widows and those fighting for freedom.

But who prays for ISIS? Who prays for the Muslim Brotherhood? Who prays for Boko Haram and Vladimir Putin? Who prays for Al Queda?

Last Sunday, I served on prayer team at my church. Five of us huddled in the church office praying for the service and everything the Spirit laid on our hearts. We prayed for the church worldwide, but in that hour, none of us prayed for the persecutors. I have to confess, that even on my own time, I am reticent to pray for them. It’s not that I haven’t thought of it; it’s just that I don’t want to.

But in the biblical account, God didn’t let prayer warriors off the hook. In Acts 9:15-17, He replied to Ananias, ” ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the LordJesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ “

If Ananias had refused God, if he had found praying for the murderer of his Christian brothers just too hard, what would have become of Saul? Who would have become Paul? Who would have written the majority of the New Testament? Who would have written Romans, the consummate doctrine of salvation by grace through faith?

God may have asked Ananias to do the unbelievable, but God proved that He will do the impossible. The bulk of our sacred New Testament was penned by the very man who once slaughtered People of the Cross.

Might God dramatically change the trajectory of history if Christians today pray for the persecutors? Can you imagine, for a split second, the magnificent manifestation of God’s glory if those perpetuating evil turned their hearts toward Jesus? Do you think we should be praying for terrorists? What should we pray?

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Article url: http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?id=31272
Learn more about me on my website: http://predatory-lies.com/about-me/
Please find my book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Predatory-Lies-Anorexia-Kelly-ebook/dp/B00HFGMBJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389645006&sr=8-1&keywords=predatory+lies
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com–CHRISTIAN WRITER

Our Exceptional God

Christians Take Heart

June 30, 2015 Gracie

Christians Take Heart

Christians take heart God is still on His throne.

We knew in this journey that things would happen in the world that would discourage and, even at times, horrify us.

I turn off the news a lot.

And I click out of the internet headlines because they get to be too much.

I read about the “groups” that are now pushing even harder for their “rights” and it makes my skin crawl…like pedos. I can’t even say that full word because it makes me nauseated. You can check it out for yourself. See Allen B. West’s website, June 27th article, for the awful headline. That’s what happens when God’s design for marriage is shot down.

And I turn off the television shows that glorify SIN.

It’s so “in your face” that I get sick of it. In our home, we tape a lot of family-friendly shows and buy movies just to get away from the junk. No agenda-TV for us, thanks.

This continuing defiance and fist-shaking at God that is happening in America will not end well for those who continue to deny His ultimate authority.

Very Troublesome Times Are Up Ahead

As Christians, we must continue to stand up for God’s truth in love and respond with gentleness and respect.

Time to get ready though. There are those people who hate God so much they will vilify believers. That’s you and me.

standing up for God's truth in love We will be hated and may lose friendships for speaking up for Jesus Christ, maybe even lose our jobs. We should expect it and be prepared. Someone said to me once, in effect, “Christians always think they’re being persecuted.” How sad is it that someone like that person refuses to listen to what is happening in other countries and also what is already happening here in the United States. They need to be more informed before making a statement like that.

But, in the thick of it, we must continue to pray.

As Christ forgave us, we must forgive them.

Don’t Lose Heart, My Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Stay strong, bold, and courageous. We know how it all ends.

He has overcome the world and keeps all of His promises.

Keep looking Heavenward!

Christ has overcome the world

Our Exceptional God

No Birds At Auschwitz

March 31, 2015 Gracie

“There were no birds at Auschwitz”

Auschwitz concentration camp “There are still no birds at Auschwitz.”

The silence in the room was overwhelming, except for the sounds of a few listeners grabbing Kleenex from their purses.

Those of us in the audience were deeply moved as Dr. Edie Eger shared her triumphant story of survival in a Nazi concentration camp.

I’m sure you’ve studied in history class or perhaps even seen movies about the horror and atrocities that took place in Auschwitz.

Man’s inhumanity to man.

How could this have happened?

Acting less than human and even less than animals, a face of evil drove thousands of brainwashed SS members in World War II to arrest and exterminate millions of Jews during Hitler’s reign of terror.

It is almost incomprehensible that anyone (man, woman or child) could have survived the savagery that took place there in the concentration camps. And yet, there before me, sat this remarkable woman on the stage – a Holocaust survivor and the epitome of grace and forgiveness.

At 87 years old, Dr. Eger can still command a room. Her stories of surviving Auschwitz are unforgettable.

I’m still thinking about them.

She is living history, and it was a privilege to hear her talk about her life. You can read more about her at this link: http://dreee.com/history.html

There are no birds at Auschwitz

No birds at Auschwitz Think about that. It still gives me chills.

I can look out the window of my home and see and hear birds chirping every day. For Dr. Eger, the pleasure of experiencing the beauty of God’s creatures was stolen from her as a young teenager.

Like most of us at age sixteen, she had hopes of fulfilling her dreams and making her life into something wonderful. As a trained ballerina from Hungary, one of her dreams was to become an Olympic gymnast.

That dream was snatched away from her in 1944 as the Nazis took her and her family to Auschwitz.

Upon arrival at the camp, her parents were taken away. She and her sister never saw their father again and were told that their mother was in another line somewhere to take a “shower.”

Dr. Eger could have lost all hope, but as she told us, that’s all she and her fellow prisoners had to cling to in a death camp – Hope.

More chills.

Dr. Eger and her sister had their hair shaved off immediately. Everything was taken from them – their jewelry, clothing – all of it and every day, they would wake up and think “What next?”

Surviving The Horror

Despite the constant fear and intimidation hurled at them from their captors, Dr. Eger held onto the fact that she would defiantly survive this horror.

“They” could never take away her memories and they could never take away her spirit. She willed to live in spite of everything that was happening to her and around her.

She remembers the needle sticking in her arm as she was forced to give blood which was then used to save the lives of injured Nazis.

One of her most chilling memories was that she was selected to dance in front of Dr. Josef Mengele, also known as the “angel of death.” I guess he needed some entertainment in his down time.

Besides Dr. Eger’s unwavering will to live, her talent as a ballerina was just one of her abilities that helped keep her alive. She could use her talent to dance before the enemy and, sometimes, it resulted in an extra ration of bread.

The extra scraps of food helped sustain her, but more importantly, so did her belief in God.

“God was with me in Auschwitz”

Her hope for a rescue and her belief in God kept her going and she knew in her heart that, one day, she would be freed. She was weak and injured to the point of death at times, but her life was far from over. In 1945, her hope became a reality as American soldiers arrived and rescued her. She was discovered, almost unconscious, as she lay among a mass grave of fellow prisoners.

Dr. Eger’s stories of life in Auschwitz (and the other camps she was moved to) are enough to make you shudder and be ashamed for taking anything you have in this life for granted.

You would think that Dr. Eger hated her captors, but she didn’t.

She said she pitied them.

She knew that the people who staffed those concentration camps would eventually be tried and, in some cases, executed for their war crimes. Even worse, until they died, the images of their brutality would be on their consciences forever.

Forgiveness no matter the cost

I can’t think of many examples of people who are as forgiving as Dr. Eger is.

She’s a shining example of what Jesus told us when He commanded us to love and pray for our enemies. We may not be able to change them, but we can pray for them.

Dr. Eger has become one of my heroes. This lovely woman has turned the heartbreaking memories of her past into a mission of encouragement for all of us to reach for our Savior, even in the darkest and loneliest of places.

God bless you Dr. Eger for sharing your story with the world. At age 87, you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever been around.

May God bring all of you peace who are reading this today.

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Our Exceptional God