How did the people of Israel pray when they were unjustly oppressed by foreign enemies? They often turned to the imprecatory psalms to express their anger and to cry out to God to help. The imprecatory psalms tend to be one of the most misunderstood writings in the Old Testament. An imprecatory psalm is one where God’s suffering people cry out to God to intervene and bring His justice to a situation. Some examples of these imprecations might include Psalms 5, 6, 35, 69, and 109, all of which are cited in the New Testament. Imprecatory psalms are those in which the author imprecates; that is, he calls down calamity, destruction, and God’s anger and judgment on his enemies.
Many react to the harsh language of some of these psalms and suggest that such language should not be used by believers today. But they forget that Jesus used such language against the Pharisees and others (for example Matthew 23). Others would have us relegate all these imprecatory psalms to an OT covenant that no longer applies to NT believers. But, if we believe that ALL scripture is inspired and useful (2 Timothy 3:16), then we need to ask how these psalms can be useful to believers today.
How can we understand and potentially pray these psalms today?
First, and most important, we need to remember that the Psalms were an honest expression of the heart. The psalmists were simply being honest with their feelings about certain situations. Many of us in prayer are not “honest with God.” Most of the time, we pray pious platitudes that make us sound spiritual while inside our hearts are crying out with anger and indignation. We can pray the imprecatory psalms because they can be an honest expression from our hearts.
Second, we need to recognize that the majority of the psalms are not imprecatory. Most of the psalms are God-exalting and caring toward others. However, when extreme injustice is resulting in innocent suffering, an imprecatory psalm was an adequate response to such evil. While we might express similar imprecations in our prayers, the focus and goal of our prayers needs to be covered in God’s mercy and love.
Third, imprecatory prayers in the psalms are also an admission of our helplessness. They are a cry to a holy and just God who will one day right every wrong and punish every evil. They are prayed from a position of weakness, not a position of strength. They are prayed out of anguish by someone who greatly desires justice.
Fourth, when we pray an imprecatory psalm, we should not view it as an end in itself. It is the initial response of an honest heart crying out to God for justice. As we pray, we should recognize that we also deserve God’s judgment and punishment as much as any that we are praying against. But we have received His unbelievable mercy. So, as we pray these psalms, we should ask God to give us a heart of mercy.
Also, as we pray these psalms, we should be quick to pray for the repentance and redemption of those who are doing these evils. We should remember that Jesus told us to love our enemies, to bless those that curse us, and to pray for those who despitefully use us (Luke 6:27-28). This is hard. But it often begins as we cry out to God honestly with imprecatory words, and then we turn to God and ask Him alone to be the avenger. Paul said to remember “vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” That’s what “imprecatory praying” does for us. It allows us to honestly cry out to God, and it encourages us to leave the results of His judgment in His hands.
We see an example of this in Revelation 6:9-10 where the heavenly martyrs cry out for God’s justice and vengeance. They ask God to avenge their “blood upon those who dwell on earth.” They recognize the evil being rained down upon believers on earth and they cry out to God to provide justice. We see this kind of praying, not only in the imprecatory psalms, but we also hear it in the words of many of the prophets who are struggling with God allowing evil to reign for a time on earth (see for example the Book of Habakkuk).
As we pray these psalms, we need to remember the promise that God will hear and answer these cries: “Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you; he will see that they get justice, and quickly” (Luke 18:7-8). Some of His justice may be seen in this life; some will wait for a far greater and eternal justice. We should pray for our enemies – if they do not repent in this life, the wrath of God will abide on them forever. That is a fate far worse than anything we could ever do to them in this life. But our heart’s desire should not only be for justice – but also for repentance so that God’s full justice will not be meted out on them.
What can we pray for in this difficult time? …. Here are a few suggestions:
- Psalm 109:8 “May his days be few; may another take his office.” Pray that Putin’s days may be few. It is clear that the Russian people in general are not behind this. Pray for Putin’s overthrow.
- Psalm 69:22 “Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.” Pray that the Russian forces might find themselves trapped and pray that their eyes might not see clearly in battle situations. Also, pray that fear might grip the soldiers and that they might refuse orders to attack.
- Psalm 109:28-29 “Let them curse, but You bless, When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice. Let my accusers be clothed with shame, And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.” Pray that a corporate shame might come over those in charge of this war. Pray that the people of Russia might rise up and call these actions shameful.
- Psalm 58:6 “Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!” Pray that their weapons would be broken and not useful.
One last thought. The imprecatory psalms are not a license for hate speech. They are a cry to a holy God for justice. They acknowledge the reality of our suffering and our desire for God to make things right. They ask God to intervene and to thwart the evil plans of evildoers. They look to God for the answer and ask that He apply His righteous judgment to the situation. They should also lead us to cry out for mercy and repentance. But most of all, they cry out to God and leave the results in the hands of only One who is truly righteous and just.
Teaching Ministry …
I finished teaching a class on Theology Proper and Theology of the Bible on Friday, February 18. We had a very good class with many practical issues. The class only has a final paper due April 1. Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. For the first time in my teaching career, I will not be requiring all papers to be submitted by the deadline. In fact, I haven’t even looked to see if any have been submitted. I know that all my students are either fighting in the military, serving with humanitarian efforts or evacuating Ukraine. Working on a final paper is one thing they will not need to worry about.
With the invasion of Ukraine, our seminaries have been very active in helping with refugees and supplies. Kyiv Theological Seminary in Kyiv has been closest to the action and has even had rockets land in nearby neighborhoods. Most of the faculty are involved in helping people evacuate from Kyiv and are helping with other refugee issues. We also have a number of chaplains who are directly involved in the military actions.
Ukrainian Baptist Seminary in Lviv has also been involved in the war efforts. The seminary itself has been transformed into a refugee center helping to feed and house people and helping to get them across the border to Poland. All of the faculty are involved in some way, most in humanitarian and refugee efforts. We do not know when classes will be able to resume at either school, but we ask that you continue to pray for their efforts to minister to others in this time of war.
We have so many friends affected by this war it is impossible to remember them all. We have many colleagues serving in the army and also many, many others helping with refugees. We also have many who have lost their homes and family members. It is all heartbreaking for us! Here is a picture with just a few friends involved in the war efforts.
On our website, we have posted some links to ministries we know about that are helping. You can find those links at https://teachingresources.org/2022/03/03/help-for-ukraine/.
Refugees in our own land …
As you read in our last update, Katya and I and the girls decided to evacuate from Ukraine in January. We had a difficult time getting Katya here, but she is in the states, and we are now applying for a change of status that will allow her to stay. Our plan is to try to return with it is possible, but we really don’t know how long that will be. So, we felt it was necessary to begin working on documents to allow her to stay past her visa length. Be praying for this. It is expense to file and often takes a number of months. But we have been assured that, once we submit the filing, she will be legally allowed to stay until Immigration decides on her case. We have also been told that she should have no problem getting her documents.
It is a strange feeling being a refugee in my own country, but that is what I am now. We left everything we own in Ukraine and traveled here with just a few suitcases of clothes (and of course, homeschool books!). We have lost everything that we owned and were planning on returning to the US with. We have no word about our car, but, since it is parked in Kyiv, it will almost certainly be destroyed. We had planned to sell it and have over $10,000 to buy a car here. Now, getting a car will be one of our most urgent needs (see below). Our home is still standing so far and is being used by some neighbors because we have a sturdy home with a cellar to hide in during the bombing. Some rockets have hit near our home in the battle for the airport, but none have hit the house so far. Our neighbors said that the fighting is now much less and there are fewer bombs and rockets at night right now.
Katya’s mother and grandmother were finally able to be evacuated. They traveled by an overloaded train from Kyiv to Lviv. In Lviv, they were taken care of by the seminary, and they were taken by them to the border with Poland. They were able to walk across the border into Poland and they were met by some long-time friends in Poland. This is an amazing story too!
We got to know our Polish friends because a family (Dwight and Darcy Pattison) in our church in North Little Rock had hosted an international student from Poland back in the 90s. Her name is Magda Listoś. After she returned to Poland, she and the Pattisons kept in touch. In 2010, Magda and her parents came to Kyiv on business and spent time with Katya and me. They also met Katya’s mother and her mother became very good friends with Magda’s parents. They even had some vacations together!
When we finally got Katya’s mom and grandmother out, we need to find a place for them to stay in Poland. Magda and her parents drove over 6 hours to pick them up at the border. Right now, they are staying with Magda’s parents near Krakow awaiting the possibility of immigrating to America. We are so grateful for such great friends but also amazed at how God’s timing brought Magda into our lives many years ago! Pray that her mother and grandmother will be able to travel to the states soon.
Our Needs now …
Many of you have asked about our needs. There are so many it is hard to know where to begin. But our primary need now is for a car. We have been blessed to be able to borrow Sean’s car, but we can’t do this forever. And we especially don’t want to put a lot of extra miles on it. In short, since we will be semi-permanent now, we need to purchase a good used car. Our biggest need is for finances since we had planned to use the money from selling our car in Ukraine to purchase something here when we moved back. But now that will not be possible. If you want to help with these funds, you can give to Teaching Resources and put #1200-Car in the memo. That way the treasurer will know how to allocate your gift. We anticipate needing between $10-15,000 for a decent used car for our family.
Second, we have only a few suitcases of clothes with us and most of that is winter clothes. So, we will soon be going to thrift shops (and hopefully garage sales) to get the clothes we need. This is the easy part since we usually do this when we visit the US and ship the clothes back to Ukraine. Just be praying for us as we search for what clothing we need.
Third, be praying about our housing. We have been tremendously blessed by a family here in Fayetteville that is allowing us to stay in their basement apartment until fall. We have some other friends that might provide some place for us for some time after that. We do not know if our house will be worth anything when we return. But we had planned to use the money from our house in Ukraine to relocate here in the US. Pray that we can find some housing for a year while we sort out what our next steps will be. (Some have asked me about our house in Cabot. Currently, we have a lease, and we would not do that to our renters. Also, we rely on the income from the house too and we are not sure we could afford to live there for a variety of reasons).
Family …
Even in the midst of all this, we are trying to have some sort of normalcy in our lives. It is hard to focus on anything because our thoughts and prayers are continually with Ukraine and our friends there. I told someone that I feel like I am “breathing prayer” all the time. We are all emotionally drained by all of this. But we are still trying to spend time with family and friends while here. The girls, as expected, are loving their time with Haven and Harley.
And we were able to get down to Florida to visit with Joel and Ally, Lucas and Marley. We even got to go to the beach some.
Also, while in Florida, we got to visit some old college friends. We didn’t get to see everyone we wanted to see, but, since we will be staying longer than we planned, we are hoping to get back to FL to visit later this year. While visiting our Joe and Barb in Port Charlotte, Joe connected me with his pastor and a Ukrainian pastor. We had lunch together and there might be some ways we can help this Ukrainian church during our time here. We will be praying and seeing what doors God opens up.
Some of you are asking what our plans are. It is hard to say. We hope that we can return to Ukraine and that is our plan. But we realize that that could take many months, maybe even a year or so. So, we are also trying to put together plans for staying in the US. We had planned to make this move back to the US in about 2 more years when we had more money saved up for the move back. But we will have to plan both for returning and for staying and see what happens in the future. Pray for us to have wisdom to know what is best to do.
Pray for Ukraine …
I’ve been asking you to pray for Ukraine for many years. Please continue. Ukraine needs your prayers now more than ever. Russia has embarked on an invasion that is really designed to destroy Ukraine as a nation. I do believe that Putin will stop at nothing less. I have often said, the only thing worse than Putin winning is Putin losing. Since Putin has been president, when the Russian forces start losing, he shifts to a “scorched earth” policy to destroy buildings and create humanitarian catastrophes that will overwhelm the country he is fighting. Included in this are direct attacks on hospitals and civilian centers and even agreed upon evacuations. We have seen this already as the Russian forces are being badly beaten by the Ukrainian troops. The humanitarian situation is truly terrible.
Even if Ukraine somehow wins, it will take many years to rebuild Ukraine and, what people have lost individually may never be able to be regained. Pray for the people of Ukraine. They are amazing but they are hurting deeply. Pray for the children of Ukraine. Pray for relief efforts and for the military too. President Zelensky recently said, “we may not win this war, but we will make it so Russia will not be able to do this to anyone else for many years to come.” That’s the spirit of all Ukrainians.
We are so grateful for all the help given by other countries. For example, Polish mothers have left strollers at train stations for Ukrainian mothers to use when they arrive in Ukraine. We have friends in refugee camps in Romania and other neighboring countries. We are grateful for all that is being done for Ukraine.
Pray also for the people of Russia. Most do not want this war and would be appalled to see what is happening if it was not being blocked by Russian censorship. Pray for the people of Russia to rise up and demand that their leaders stop this war. Most of all, pray that even in these dark times, the light of the gospel will go forth. Thank you for praying for us and especially for the people of Ukraine!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
Also, some have asked about how to support us. You can send checks to Teaching Resources International, PO Box 1025, Cabot, AR 72023 or pay through PayPal on our website. Just put “#1000 Ehrhard” in the memo so our treasurer knows where to allocate the funds. If you want to help with our car fund, put #1200-Car in the memo. Or with relocation to the US – put Relocation.
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