Praying for your enemies

 Psalm 83:1–18 (ESV):  

1  O God, do not keep silence; 

do not hold your peace or be still, O God! 

 2  For behold, your enemies make an uproar; 

those who hate you have raised their heads. 

 3  They lay crafty plans against your people; 

they consult together against your treasured ones. 

 4  They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; 

let the name of Israel be remembered no more!” 

 5  For they conspire with one accord; 

against you they make a covenant— 

 6  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, 

Moab and the Hagrites, 

 7  Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, 

Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 

 8  Asshur also has joined them; 

they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah 

 9  Do to them as you did to Midian, 

as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 

 10  who were destroyed at En-dor, 

who became dung for the ground. 

 11  Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, 

all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 

 12  who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves 

of the pastures of God.” 

 13  O my God, make them like whirling dust, 

like chaff before the wind. 

 14  As fire consumes the forest, 

as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 

 15  so may you pursue them with your tempest 

and terrify them with your hurricane! 

 16  Fill their faces with shame, 

that they may seek your name, O Lord. 

 17  Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; 

let them perish in disgrace, 

 18  that they may know that you alone, 

whose name is the Lord, 

are the Most High over all the earth. 

This is certainly a prayer of frustration, Asaph has had enough of the irritating behaviour of the enemies of Israel. He knows who they are, he names them and asks for God to wipe them out. He is fed up of his nation being threatened and harassed by so many others, so he asks God to radically deal with these enemies. The people of God have a lot of enemies and they will always have someone out to get them. The enemy will cause defeat and disasters and entice people to act on his behalf, so those that belong to God are going to have a hard time. Life can feel like a battle, but i heard someone say the other day - suffering happens just because you are human, so would you rather go though these struggles with or without God?! It is a great question to ponder. Some people allow the frustrations, problems and battles to destroy their faith, instead of allowing their faith to destroy their enemies. 

Asaph feels like not just that his life is problematic, but that the whole of the nation is in trouble. Yet he does not allow the trouble to define his faith, but he allows his faith and knowledge of God reframe the problem. Asaph not only recounts the numerous enemies, and the vastness of the situation, but also remembers the bigness of God, and numerous times God has brought salvation for Israel. Asaph knows that the greatest way to fight and reduce the enemies power is to pray. So he prays that these enemies will become as ‘whirling dust' and that they would be so humbled and depleted that those left will be ashamed of their behaviour. He has read and heard about the previous times that God has saved Israel, so he has faith in the power and authority of God to do it again. He is certain that when God turns His face towards Israel, they will be restored and the enemies devastated. 

What is your response when you feel got at, disappointed, angered and like you have a battle to face? Do you approach God to tell Him what is going on and trust Him to act in such a way that brings relief and rescue, and will even cause the enemies to recognise the mightiness of God? 

Asaph seems to change his mind through the psalm as to what he wants to happen to these foes. At first he speaks of the enemies being ‘destroyed’, and ‘dung for the ground’. However, verses 15-18 show that Asaph has a different outcome that he desires. For he asks that these enemies will be terrified and shamed by God. So that, ‘they may seek your name, O Lord’. Maybe this was influenced by the Holy Spirit as Asaph became more passionate in prayer and the Holy Spirit guided him in his words, so that he could see a greater outcome than complete annihilation. For which would be better; That the enemies not only bow their knees and heads to Israel, but to ‘the Most High over all the earth’ or that they were simply destroyed? 

The desire through any trouble, difficult circumstance or battle should be that God will be seen and known. That He is seen to protect and fight for those who love and obey Him, and that He can and will forgive and save the enemies of His people if they humble themselves and repent. No person is too great an enemy of God or his people that they cannot come to know the love and power of Almighty God. I mean, consider Saul becoming Paul - what a miraculous salvation occurred in his life! (Acts 9) When you see people persecuting those loved by God, why not pray like Asaph does, that their power will be destroyed, and that they will recognise the glory, majesty and terrifying power of the Lord God? Imagine the impact of a few modern day Paul stories - how would that change your life, your town, your nation or even the world?! 

So, why not pray like Asaph did? Ask God to pursue those enemies, to terrify them so that they seek the name of God. Then they will humble themselves in shame and repentence and glorify the Most High over all the earth. Surely, better than the demise and destruction of any enemy, it is better to see them acknowledging their sin and turning in shame to God. Living the rest of their lives in the humble realisation that God is Most High. If Saul hadn’t of had that encounter and become Paul can you imagine what would not have happened? For a start, almost half the books in the New Testament would not exist! We are grateful for and marvel at Saul’s conversion, but that happened after years of him tormenting and persecuting God’s own. People would have been praying for his reputation and power to end, and it did, just not in the way most people expected. This event and encounter in one man’s life led to the gospel spreading, churches built, the gentiles receiving salvation and other leaders invested in and grown. All because an enemy of God was terrified, humbled and ashamed, and was able to receive the forgiveness and salvation that God invites everyone to enjoy. Who do you need to pray for today so that God’s name can be glorified and His goodness spread throughout the Earth once again?