Anyone have something to share?
Psalm 3
1 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Wandering Views 
I may have told you this before.
Years ago, (not many, it was in Hendersonville), a man asked if it was OK to pray against someone who was doing something against you.”
I said, “Jesus said that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But the Psalms are full of it.”
This is only one example
LikeLiked by 1 person
Chas – Interesting you should mention that. Yesterday, my pastor’s sermon text was Romans 12:14-19:
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”
(NKJV)
He also used the examples of David having the opportunity to kill Saul, but not doing so, and the captive girl who told Naaman to go to Elisha for healing from his leprosy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Curses and blessings were very powerful in the OT and yes, psalms show both being used. I have prayed for ‘the teeth to be broken in their heads and for their evil to be exposed and fall on their own heads’ as well as for their eyes and ears to be opened to God’s truth and their need of Him. God alone knows what we all need, including our enemies. We can trust him to do the best thing for them and us. Perhaps I am wrong, though. I do not wish them harm, but for them to stop harming others.
LikeLiked by 4 people
On the imprecatory psalms:
https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2019/03/can-pray-imprecatory-prayers/
______________________________
Can I Pray Imprecatory Prayers?
Yes. And you should. As difficult as that answer might be to swallow, it best accounts for the biblical record. Let me explain.
An imprecatory psalm is a type of lament. In Hebrew Wisdom Literature, lament psalms are the individual and corporate cries of God’s people. The imprecatory psalms in particular vocalize Israel’s tears in the face of injustice and suffering. By praying down the curse of God on His enemies, Israel sought to hold up the goodness of God’s law for His people.
At root, an imprecatory psalm is an invocation of divine cursing. Examples of these imprecations include Psalms 5, 6, 35, 69, and 109, all of which are cited in the New Testament. Curse pronouncements are interspersed throughout the biblical canon. For example, Jesus calls down woes of judgment on religious leaders in Matthew 23. Paul pronounces an anathema on anyone who preaches another gospel in Galatians 1:8–9. And the martyrs in heaven petition God to avenge their blood in Revelation 6:10.
The consistent witness of Scripture affirms the legitimacy of God’s people making use of imprecatory prayers in their individual, family, and corporate prayers. Underlying this assertion is a basic assumption that the prayers of God’s people should be rooted in all of Scripture. The Psalter is God’s divinely inspired prayer book and hymnal. It gives us the language of petition and praise. The imprecatory psalms help give shape to the hurt and outrage that the people of God at times experience in a world desecrated by sin.
Some react to the harsh language of the imprecatory psalms. While this is understandable, we mustn’t lose sight of what our sin deserves. Others underscore the teaching of Jesus to love our enemies. But loving our enemies in the New Testament never comes at the expense of forgoing appeals to divine justice. Praying for God to punish the wicked is neither unloving nor vindictive but is an expression of faith in Him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). …
___________________________
LikeLiked by 1 person
Please pray for Tony S and his family. He gave the sermon at our church yesterday. He worked the same place as my husband. His wife is our churche’s secretary, although they go to church elsewhere. He has been battling cancer to a few years now. He even had a stem cell transplant using his own stem cells. His sermon was on the goodness of God and God’s use of suffering for our good. He threaded the chorus, “It is well with my soul” throughout the talk. He just found our his aggressive cancer has returned throughout his body and there is nothing more to be done. They were hoping for a few more years, but that seems dashed now. He has two children in college and was forced to retire early which means an insurance change which has brought some stress, as well.
He spoke of two fellow cancer sufferers, who both had transplant donations. One seemed hopeless and he prayed for him without believing it would do much good. The other (a man we knew) seemed so confident, Tony did not even think of praying for him. That man died and the other who seemed so hopeless is now in remission. It was a lesson for Tony about trusting God and not assuming with our prayers. A reminder of who is really in control. He gave much glory to God and such good food for thought.
LikeLiked by 4 people
To me, praying for one’s enemies does not necessarily mean that we don’t also pray that their wickedness be stopped or that they won’t face justice.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Kathaleena – What you wrote about Tony and his wife hoping for a few more years hits home. Hubby and I truly thought we had more time, and I still wish we’d had at least a few more years (at the same time coming to terms with his “early” death being in God’s sovereign will).
I am praying that they will indeed have more time, if not full healing. But also that if it is God’s will to take Tony soon, He will prepare his wife in some practical ways she needs to be prepared, as he did for me. (I am still so grateful when I think of the several things that “just happened” to be taken care of mere months or weeks before Hubby’s death. I know that that was by God’s prompting.)
LikeLiked by 2 people
I like to pray that truth will be revealed and let the Holy Spirit sort out what happens next.
LikeLiked by 4 people
~ Some Christian professionals squirm over the content of the psalms that call down God’s holy wrath on our enemies. The qualification to be able to pray these psalms is that we need to understand the person — or the activity of a person — whom God truly hates. The Scripture calls this a ‘perfect’ hatred and a perfect love, which means that it is possible to ‘hate’ our enemies’ behaviors without eluding the command to love our enemies as well. ~
— “What’s in the Bible” / wisdom books chapter
LikeLiked by 1 person
DJ – Hate the sin but love the sinner?
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s such a cliche, but there is truth to it.
LikeLiked by 2 people