Psalm 109:4

Psalm 109:4

Imprecatory prayer

This verse is packed with meaning! Firstly, David acknowledges that the ones who have turned against him are those who have been his friends. In fact, the meaning goes deeper, friends are one thing, the text here suggests that David’s adversaries are those who he has loved. Once again, the possibility is that he is talking about his own son, Absalom, or if not, men who have been very close to him. 

There are very few things more painful than having loved ones heaping accusations over us. This can of course happen in marriage, in families, even in churches and usually the victims feel betrayal, a great sense of loss and also shock, for such events are rarely anticipated. I remember working in Christian ministry with some “friends” for over 10 years, they were men I looked up to and who had appeared to support me in many different ways during that time. One day they requested a meeting and said that they wanted nothing more to do with me, that in fact they had never supported my ministry and it was time to part company. I never saw that coming and it was devastating!

The next part of this verse shows David’s true heart, how I’m looking forward to meeting that man! “I am a man of prayer.” There are two ways of reading this, it could be that David was praying for his adversaries, that they would have changed hearts and own up to their lies. What is more likely from the text is that David was praying against them! This is borne out by later verses in the Psalm. We call this imprecatory prayer, it is when we invoke judgement, calamity or curses on our enemies or those who we perceive to be enemies of God! 

Is such prayer justifiable today? I think that praying curses over human foes may not be justifiable, for Jesus encouraged His disciples to pray for their enemies and those who mistreated them. Luke 6:27-38. However, there seems to be some justification for prayer against our spiritual enemies and that those who oppose our God should be held to account by His justice. Food for thought. 

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