Many of us hold strange views on prayer. We are perhaps used to hearing ‘model prayers’ spoken in church, prayers full of eloquent language and lofty sentiments, and as a result of this, we may feel that our prayers are somehow inferior. We may feel we have to polish our language or refine our phraseology in order to be heard by God. Often, this results not in more prayer (based on the adage that ‘practice makes perfect‘) but less. No matter how much we pray, we feel inadequate.
Then we read the book of Psalms, the Biblical handbook on prayer, and we are taken by surprise. To be sure, there are prayers which are lofty and noble, full of dazzling imagery and equally wonderful simplicity. But interspersed with all these prayers are the ‘imprecatory psalms’ (Ps 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, 140) which seethe with anger and are full of prayers that rail against enemies, calling down curses from heaven.
When life is comfortable and easy, we feel disquiet at these psalms. What are they doing in the Bible?! The raw emotion, the passion, the fury, the outrage, the sheer violence of these prayers takes us by surprise. It’s difficult to imagine these prayers being intoned in the strange voice often heard in church services, that sing-song tone which renders all meaning squeezed out of words. These prayers are furious tirades, passionate pleas for justice, heartfelt cries from the depth of people’s beings.
But when we find ourselves in such situations – facing injustice, people who plot against us, called to cope with atrocities that are beyond our comprehension – these prayers suddenly take on a whole new meaning. They ‘articulate our own disquiet when we are caught in the agony and emotional upheaval of life’s incongruities and injustices.’ (Bible Gateway commentary.) They help us to see that we can bring every emotion before God, holding nothing back. They show us the very personal and real nature of prayer: not something to be polished or practised, but the heart’s cry to a loving God. ‘These prayers awaken the conscience to the human cry for redress, the cosmic demand for moral order and justice. They can lead one to feel as deeply as one ought the horrendous insult to Yahweh and his creation perpetrated by those who lie and cheat and kill and abuse and blaspheme. Made callous by exposure to continual evil, one may lose the sense of outrage these evils deserve, whether done to us or to others or to God. These prayers awaken that outrage, which is to be offered to God and which motivates to redemptive action.’ (Bible Gateway commentary)
Jesus did indeed urge us to pray for our enemies, not against them. (Matt 5:44) Where we start in prayer is not usually, however, where we end up. We may start with anger, outrage, fury, bitterness and hatred. But as we pray, letting go of those emotions, releasing them to God, we are ‘led through the desire for vengeance to the prayer for blessing and redemption to which we are called.’
Trusting in God when nothing makes sense, when life is spinning out of control as far as we can see, when we are wounded and hurt is not easy. But we take heart from these psalms which teach us that prayer involves ‘raw honesty and detailed thoroughness.’ (Eugene Peterson’s introduction to the Psalms) Don’t wait for perfect situations to pray. Pray whatever the situation. (1 Thess 5:17)