When we pray, or sometimes plead with the LORD in hard circumstances, we often site our own righteousness. Haven’t we tried to follow you? Haven’t we tried to do good? I haven’t done anything majorly evil, LORD.
But not David. David knows the futility of trying to plead our own righteousness as reason for answered prayer. Instead, he prays because of YOUR righteousness, LORD, please hear my prayer.
“LORD, hear my prayer, In Your faithfulness listen to my plea and in Your righteousness answer me. Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous in Your sight” (Ps 143:2).
Oh, how David gets it. “No one alive is righteous in Your sight.” Trying to pretend anything less is futile. So he prays based on God’s righteousness, not his own.
And then another stroke of David’s wisdom. And a life of a king so different from the norm.
“My spirit is weak within me; my heart is overcome with dismay” (Ps 143:4).
When, if ever, have you heard a government prime minister/president/king say something like this? Me? Never. Why? Because the common way of a king is to show strength so as not to to promote fear to the people. A leader today would never want to admit fear and weakness. What kind of a king does that?
But it’s what made David so great. Had he just stopped at his fear and his weakness, he would indeed have spread that same fear throughout the nation. But David had such a relentless confidence in the LORD. That’s the reason why he was able to show and speak openly of his weakness. He spread hope and faith and trust in the LORD even in the midst of human frailty. He knew who he was–weak, and he knew who God was–powerful.
“Let me experience Your faithful love in the morning for I trust in You. Reveal to me the way I should go because I long for You. Rescue me from my enemies, LORD; I come to you for protection. Teach me to do Your will for You are my God. May Your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground” (Ps 143:8-10).
In this confidence, this covenant relationship, David was able to pray to God, asking Him to destroy His enemies.
“…in Your faithful love destroy my enemies. Wipe out all those who attack me, for I am Your servant” (Ps 143:12).
So this brings up a question. Is it Ok to pray to God to destroy one’s enemies? Previously we dealt with how this was a different situation than when Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
It’s important to note here that God was in a covenant relationship with Israel. So for David, yes, this was actually valid. But for us? Outside of Israel and in the new covenant? Our enemies are the powers of darkness (Eph 6). So in every way it is valid for us to pray against unclean spirits and that the works of the devil would be put down.
What about when nations go to war? As in like…today? (Rus/Ukr) Each side believes that they are in the right. Each side is praying to God to destroy the other. Each side has God-fearing Christian people who think their side is the side of God.
I think it’s very valid to pray for protection. And appropriate. It’s valid to pray for the thwarting of the enemy, remembering that our enemy is not against flesh and blood (Eph 6:10-12). It’s valid to pray for wisdom and understanding. It’s valid to pray for peace.
There are many things we can pray. But our prayers are different than David’s and different than Israel’s prayers. They are a covenant nation. The enemies of our nations are pagan nations just like our own nations. And there are many things going on beyond our understanding and behind the curtains of our leaders. There are many things that are worthy of praying–peace, protection, wisdom and more. I believe that is our call in how to pray for today.