11/5/2023 0 Comments Pray for your enemies bible verse![]() Now, granted, Asaph doesn’t really take anything off the table here, including that the enemy “perish.” Asaph reveals it can happen by any means necessary, but he ultimately wants the enemy to seek God’s name.Īsaph’s prayer isn’t revenge-minded, it is recognition- and repentance-minded. The purpose behind Asaph’s prayer is so ” that they may seek” God’s name. He reveals the desire of his heart in this prayer, which is a reflection of the heart of God. The beauty of this verse is the purpose Asaph reveals in praying this prayer about God’s enemy, Israel’s enemy, his enemy. Read that again through the lens of “loving your enemy” or better yet, “praying for those who persecute you.” “ Fill their faces with dishonor, that they may seek Your name, O L ORD.” As 18 essentially reinforces 16, let’s zero in on verse 16: I find the two most subtle moments in this 83rd Psalm to fall in verses 16 and 18. They reveal the subtleties in their complementary color. Further, these contrasting colors, which are opposite one another on the color wheel, serve to complement one another. ![]() The orange reveals just how blue the room really is, and the blue reveals just how orange the vase really is. It’s sorta like walking into a room that is almost all blue, and then there is a bright orange vase prominently featured. I choose to look at contradictions as contrast. When approaching what appears to be a contradiction in Scripture, I have to step back for a moment and redefine what I am seeing. Yes, there is a little bit of truth to this argument, but maybe, if we lean into the Holy Spirit and allow Him to reveal Himself in these moments, we will find that He has as much to show us about the sinful natures we continue to cling to as He has to reveal about the glory and wonder of our beautiful Creator. You know the argument, “Well, Jesus came to show us a new way and the Old Testament often shows you what it was like without Jesus.” And then we walk away until the next contradiction reveals itself. ![]() New Testament” argument in these situations. I don’t know about you, but I find myself weary of the standard “Old Testament vs. How did the omnipotent, infallible God mess this one up? The Truth in Contradiction Is this “pray for your enemies” thing that Jesus teaches actually for real?įor that matter, isn’t this a blatant contradiction between two places we claim to be the “inspired Word of God”? This doesn’t sound like “loving” and it doesn’t sound like he’s praying for anyone but himself. He wanted God to “pursue” the enemy with His “tempest” and to “terrify” the enemy with His “storm.” He prayed that God’s enemies would be “humiliated” and “perish.” It is such a simple, yet challenging, message, but doesn’t it stand in direct opposition to what Asaph’s psalm teaches? Asaph was praying for destruction and annihilation. Jesus proclaims, “ You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” in Matthew 5:43-44. While I hope you read this prayer in its entirety (verses 9-18), I will focus in on just a few verses which I would like to view through the lens Jesus provides in His Words from the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5). It is in this prayer that I become particularly challenged. And, after identifying them, Asaph begins to pray and raise a petition against their actions before God. In the next three verses, Asaph names the tribes and nations who have joined the ranks of the enemies.
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