"Should We Pray Like David?" March 13 Readings: Deuteronomy 3-4, Mark 12:18-44, Psalm 35:1-6, Proverbs 8:17-18

Today's Readings - Deuteronomy 3-4, Mark 12:18-44, Psalm 35:1-6, Proverbs 8:17-18

Devotional - Should We Pray Like David?

Many of David's prayers in the Psalms sound strange to our modern ears. In Psalm 35:1-6, he calls on God to take up not only a shield (we have no problem asking God to protect us) but also a spear and javelin. Those are sharp, pointed weapons designed to skewer another person. Most of us would have a problem asking God to drive a spear through another person for us, wouldn't we? He asks that God would disgrace and humiliate those who pursue him, to make them like the chaff in the wind and to make their way dark and slippery.

Pretty intense stuff - and those are some of David's milder imprecations. Some of his other psalms are much more brutal than this.

So how can a man after God's own heart call on God to do such awful things? Was David just not aware of God's love and mercy? Did he have an undeveloped sense of ethics?

I do not have definitive answers to any of these questions, but I have some thoughts that can help us as we read through the Psalms and the sometimes harsh prayers in them.

1) David is calling out to God for help.

He is not taking revenge himself or striking out at those who have hurt him. He is calling on God to do exactly what God promised to do. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. David is going to God when he feels abused and mistreated and asking him to do what he has promised to do.

2) David is a child of God walking in obedience to God.

We do not earn God's protection by our good works, but neither can we expect God's protection when we are living in sin. David was a man after God's own heart. He was on the Lord's side and because of that, he knew that his enemies were also the enemies of God.

Too often, Christians make sinful or unwise choices, then call on God to help them when the consequences come down on themselves. David was suffering for serving God and when that takes place it is right and good to call on God for help and protection.

But we must make sure that our suffering is for God's Kingdom, not for our own unrighteous acts.

3) David did not have the full revelation of the New Testament's path of grace.

He worshiped the same God of love that we do, but the concept of loving your enemy, returning good for evil, and seeking to bless those who persecute you had not been fully developed in David's day. He was responsible for the light that he had. He knew that he was to step back and let God (alone) take vengeance on his enemies. That is what he did.

We are responsible for the light we have - the bright light that shines through our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, God still protects us and works against our enemies, but our duty is to pray for our enemies and to seek to bring them to Christ, not to fight against them as David did.

It is not that we are better than David, but we have a revelation more complete than what he had.

4) Remember who the real enemy is!

This is something we often forget. My real enemy is not the man who speaks evil against me behind my back, the one who cheats me, or betrays me or mistreats me. That person is one for whom Christ died; one who needs to experience grace, mercy and the power of God, just as I do.

The real enemy is that roaring lion who goes about the earth seeking whom he may devour. The real enemy is this sinful world system that is enslaved to Satan's lies. The real enemy is my own sinful flesh which wars against my soul and draws me to the sinful things of this world and away from Christ. They are my real enemies.

And I ask God to do to them everything David asked God to do to his enemies. Skewer my flesh, Lord, that I may walk in your holiness. Bring down this sinful world system with your truth. Destroy all the works of darkness and the god of this age. Brutalize them, Lord.

The most important thing in all of this is to make sure that we are living on God's agenda, walking the path he has set for us. When we do that we can seek his guidance and protection from our enemies, as David did.

Father, more than anything else, I ask you to destroy the enemy inside me, my sinful flesh that entices me to sin. The death of your Son broke its hold over me, but I ask that you would help me die every day to sin that your power might be displayed through me. 

Think and Pray

Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?
Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?

In the full revelation of New Testament truth, you should call out to God for help and protection from your enemies, from those who attack you, but also remember the admonitions to forgive them, love them, and seek to bless them spiritually.
Think through those about whom you might be tempted to pray David-style prayers, and pray God's blessings on them.