Praying Against Evil
Bless those who curse you, pray for their salvation, and pray for deliverance from the greatest evil
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
There is certainly plenty of "what is evil" all around us (if you want to say it more sinister, say Ee-vill, like the bad guys in movies). We read and hear all the time, about those who inflict what ought not to be upon one another. Books, films, news, all portray ungodly deeds and all manner of these evils near and far.
John also says, Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:20). Those perpetrators of evil, simply put, hate God, and the evil they do is the result. This word evil can be defined as worthless and bad, of no account, wicked. And Johns instruction--even warning, is to not imitate it among ourselves.
The followers of Christ are not to repay anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone, says Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:15. So even if evil is come upon us by those who hate the Light, we are taught to do good, to bless those who curse us, even--yes, even to--get this, pray for them! In Luke 6:28, Jesus says "bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Even when they are evil, doing evil things to us, God's own people? Apparently, yes.
How may we pray?
First, for their salvation, second for God's judgement. We pray against wickedness by praying for those who do evil—primarily by interceding for God's mercy and grace to fall upon them, that He might give them saving faith, drawing them from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His Son. As the Lord had mercy on us poor undeserving sinners, we pray the same for those who inflict harm, whether on us or others.
Also, we may pray for His divine judgement to come and act on our behalf against their wicked ways. You may have heard the word imprecation. An imprecation is a curse that calls for calamity and judgement from God on someone. There are some of these in the Psalms, including Psalm 5:10 - Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. The psalmist is surrounded by enemies, and looks for God to intervene, to pronounce them guilty (see Roman 3:19-20). Others are 9:20; 25:3; 35:4; 40:14; 70:2; and also Psalm 79:6, 10 - Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. ... Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let there be known among the nations in our sight The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed.
However, be careful in praying these and others like them. Keep this in mind, we pray not against the person, but against the evil they do. These prayers are not for any of our own vengeance, or to invoke God to harm anyone for us. Rather, they ask for His divine judgement against evil. Remember, our enemy is not flesh and blood, but spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
One More Way To Pray
The final way to pray ought probably be the first. How to pray against the greatest evil? We'll let Spurgeon take it from here:
“Sin is the greatest evil in the universe. It is the parent of all other ills.”
All manner of evils draw their bitterness from this fount of wormwood and gall. If a man had every possession mortal could desire, sin could turn every blessing into a curse. But, on the other hand, if a man had nothing for his inheritance but suffering, but stood clear from all sin, his afflictions, his losses, his deprivations might each one be a gain to him.We ought not to pray so much against sickness, or trial, or temptation, or even against death itself, as against sin. Satan himself cannot hurt us, except as he is armed with the poisoned arrows of sin.“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” There is no evil like the evil of sin, deliver us from it Oh Lord! 1
This, then is the greatest evil, and mostly it is within us. When we pray against evil, it should be for our own deliverance from it's clutches, first. And then against all the wickedness in the world around us.
Father, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We pray as Jesus did, that You keep us from the evil one. Amen
Until Thursday, grace and peace
(Edited excerpts from) “The Deceitfulness of Sin” by C. H. Spurgeon, February 16, 1890
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