Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me! – Psalm 35:1
Psalm 35 is what is known as an imprecatory psalm. A loose definition of an imprecatory psalm might be: any psalm that calls on God to punish or avenge the author; or, in other words, a psalm that explicitly curses the enemies of the psalmist. I think many of us read psalms like Psalm 35 and are a bit uneasy. Is it ok to feel so “violent” towards our enemies? Doesn’t Jesus say that we should “love our enemies?” Is it ok to hate people-GASP!-and ask God to punish them? Should I pray against my enemies?
A common practice is to reimagine “enemy” in Psalm 35 to be allegorical for “sin” so that we end up calling on God to avenge the world against “sin” not actual people. While this is a nice sentiment and is true in one sense, I doubt that is what was in David’s head as he wrote this psalm. He was, after all, literally running for his life, hunted and pursued by enemies who wanted him dead. My guess is that many of us read Psalm 35 and conclude it is part of “Old Testament Christianity" and doesn’t apply to us, or at least isn’t a part of the normative Christian experience (whatever that is).
But is this the whole story? Is this even an honest account of real life?
Why then, do we flock to movie theatres to watch stories of superheroes who “contend” for us? Who “fight against those who fight against” us? That are literally titled “The Avengers?” Why do we feel like a movie theatre is an appropriate place to vicariously live out some untapped sense of vindication against our enemies (who or whatever they may be) and yet don’t think God can handle the same in and through our prayers?
It seems we may be more honest in the movies we watch than in the prayers we pray.
So as we continue this month thinking about prayer together in our gatherings, practicing it in our homes, and discussing it around dinner tables, I want to urge you to be more honest before God in your prayers. Be honest in your praise, in your worship, in your gratitude, in your sense of awe and wonder. Be honest in your needs and your petitions. Be honest about your hurts, your sorrows and your fears. And, like David in Psalm 35, be honest when you are wronged or mistreated; be honest about the injustice in your life and in the world around you. Be honest before God with every emotion that festers and boils up inside of you.
**whispers** (Even those “not-very-Christian-of-you” emotions.)
-- Chaz Holsomback