Do you ever wonder why evil people flourish and seem to face no consequences for their actions? David mulls over this question as he prays to The Lord. Let us follow his example with our prayers! God is not afraid of difficult questions and he answers us when we pray and when we read his word, or even talk to someone who may have known Jesus a little longer than we have.
I was excited to arrive at Psalm 10, because many years ago, I was praying for God to intervene in a political situation that seemed to be full of lies, confusion and manipulation. Sounds like politics all the time, right? Well, maybe. This was far back enough that it seemed rather shocking, compared to other political turmoil of the day.
I was seeking God in intense prayer one day and asking him how to pray for the situation. I felt a little more than angry and afraid for our nation that this type of politics would be happening so openly with little to no outrage.
As I prayed, I heard the phrase in my head, “Break their arm, Oh Lord. (Psalm 10).”
Surely NO! I would never pray for something like that to happen to anyone. I felt a tug to look up Psalm 10 and found this in the passage I had NEVER READ BEFORE:
Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
WHOA. I couldn’t believe it! What does that mean? Immediately, The Lord showed me that it did NOT mean to pray for a physically broken arm. WHEW! It means break the ARM of their power. The arm is, of course, the powerhouse of a person and super important in everything they do. Someone who is physically strong, has very strong arms. Someone who is politically strong has very strong political reach. In Isaiah, Jesus himself is declared as the ARM of the Lord.
John 12:38
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”The word arm, in the Greek is:
brachión: the armOriginal Word: βραχίων, ονος, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: brachión
Phonetic Spelling: (brakh-ee’-own)
Short Definition: the arm, strength
Definition: the arm, strength.
Here is the link for the Bible Hub definition of the word arm in Psalm 10.
http://biblehub.com/hebrew/2220.htm
In this Psalm, you have permission, to pray that God will break the power of the evil doers. This is not to be prayed randomly or lightly on anyone. God will hold us into account for all we say and do, even in pray. BUT, if you are talking about a person or entity who is bringing this type of pre-meditated evil on innocent people, then David says, “Break their arm, Oh Lord!”
The purpose of this? To literally break their power to oppress the weak and innocent. We should not take this lightly or use it as a “curse” to hurt people we are mad at. We use it to pray that God’s kingdom will come and advance to rescue people from darkness and bring them into light. If there are people who are murdering, stealing, lying, intentionally hurting poor and oppressed people. (i.e. Isis….the porn industry…the abortion industry etc…) you are to be God’s prayer warrior.
Let this be a lesson to also seek God in prayer and ask him, “How do you want me to pray, Lord? Because he will lead you!”
You can see I used this color-code again to help you see all the people the Psalmist is mentioning. After you read through the color-coded prayer, take time to scroll further and do a more in-depth prayer time, as you are lead!
Remember, as always, if this blesses you, please share it with others! The more people who are encouraged with prayer, the better!
Color-code:
Purple is who God is.
Blue is God’s actions we pray for.
Red is who the evil are.
Green stands for the innocent and fatherless.
Orange stands for the person praying.
Psalm 10
1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Prayer time:
1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? There are so many things going on right now in my life and the world and I just want you to swoop down and change it all in a flash! These evil people have nothing that holds a candle to your power. Evil is advancing every day. Please, Lord, do not allow this to continue. Lord, I know you are a God of mercy and give many people a chance to repent, but I am sometimes impatient. I praise you for your mercy and your timing, but may I be a part of that timing, even with my prayers. I am not just praying against the evil, I am praying for the innocent today, Oh Lord!
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises. (Confuse and expose his plans, oh Lord!)
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
Lord, it seems crazy how much blatant evil is in the world. How many children must suffer at the hands of their own parents? How many more innocent must be slaughtered by Isis? How many, Oh Lord? The wicked boast. Instead of opening their eyes to the truth, they openly praise the most wicked, hateful, depraved people. It says in your word, Woe unto you who call good evil and evil good!
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God. In college classrooms all over the world, the atheist professor is teaching our sons and daughters their own twisted view of the world. Lord, They need you! But, they seem to be far from you. There are rich people who oppress their workers, they cheat and use people. Please Lord, Please bring conviction. There are poor people who even are depraved and curse your name and have no time for you at all. They push you away and defile your name.
5 God, it seems like the wicked’s ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
Lord God, in Chicago, there are so many murders every day. Little children are caught in the cross-fire. Oh God, in abortion clinics every day, thousands of tiny lives are pulled apart limb from limb, by calloused doctors and nurses. Selfish men and women brandish and use weapons in homes, workplaces and schools and bring fear and horrible situations. Lord save us! Bring repentance! Bring deliverance! Bring salvation! Take control!
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
Lord, I think of those little children who are being aborted everyday. This is the greatest holocaust in history. Will you hear? Will you bring down justice? Will you convict? Where are the preachers repentance? Where are those reaching the hurting single mothers? Where are those giving up their time as volunteers to help the troubled? Where is the church? Where are the believers who will say, “No more blood on my hands?!” Where are the voters? Lord, they stay home in silence, discouraged. Or they stand on the side of those legalizing it. They do not think you care.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.” So many people think that your grace is a license to sin…even to hurt unborn babies or disgrace single mothers. So many people think you will wink or look away! They say they love Jesus with their mouths, but their hearts are far from you.
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Father, in Jesus name, I commit the victims to you today. I stand with them in prayer. I ask, in Jesus name, that you will hear the cries of the oppressed Christians and minorities in the middle east who are suffering under a terrible crisis. I pray that you deliver the innocent who are being aimed at even right now and targeted for aggression. I ask, oh Lord, that you will bring the darkness into light. Bring the bright light of Christ to shine into the hearts of the evil people who are propagating death and harm.
I pray for the unborn babies that you would give them a voice. I pray for the man who is sitting in jail for filming the Planned Parenthood videos that exposed the evils of the deadly, billion dollar organization! I pray for the oppressed everywhere, for you to work against the evil that is coming against them, in Jesus name.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
Break the arm (power) of ISIS oh, Lord! Break the power of the abortion industry, oh Lord! Break the power of the abusers and the sex traffickers, Oh Lord. Break the power of evil, Oh Lord, my God! Break the arm of power of evil politicians who are lying, even now to the American people to trick them into casting their votes for them. Break Satan’s arm of power in my town, against my family, in my church, in my county, in my state and in my nation, Oh Lord, my God, in the name of Jesus. As David said, “You come against me with a sword and a shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel!”
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; Lord, be exalted. May everyone know how good you are. Lift your name up above the liar and the manipulator. Lift your name up above the evil fray. Lift your name up, Oh King. Be exalted, Oh Lord, my God! Hosanna! Jesus, you died and rose again! I pray in your resurrection power that you will work a mighty work!
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Thank you, Oh Lord. You do hear the cry of the afflicted. You do hear the cries. You will intervene in your timing. You will not judge unjustly, but give ample time to repent. I pray for all those in evil that they will repent and turn to you. I pray for the innocent, that you will vindicate them by your powerful right arm, your Son Jesus Christ. I pray that you will lead the innocent out of captivity, Oh Lord, in Jesus name! Amen.
Revealed Ministries 