Friday, December 2, 2016

Praying for Vengeance and Mercy


How many are the days of your servant?
When will you execute judgment on those who persecute me?
Psalm 119:84

Those anguished words are from the Son of God through David, foretelling of the time he would come to earth and suffer the cruel hatred of men.  We learn from those words of the Son’s earthly struggle, that while here among us, he wondered how long the Father would keep him here, and how long it would be before the Father avenged him for the abuse he had suffered.
If you have been abused by the ungodly, you cannot avoid such feelings; your heart will cry out for God to avenge you.  Do not condemn yourself for feeling those things.  Jesus felt them, too.  At the same time, Jesus commanded us to do good to our enemies and to pray for them, as he did: “Love your enemies; bless those who curse you; do good to those who hate you; and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you” (Mt. 5:44).
The godly soul will cry out for God to avenge him of his enemies, and it will also cry out for God to show them mercy.  The godly soul will feel both feelings, and the Spirit will lead him to do both at a time when God will hear that prayer.