Teaching Resources International

“Break their teeth, O God….” (October 2022 Update) 

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Over the last 9 months, the world has seen the horror of this invasion and they have seen the resilience of the Ukrainian people. As Ukraine has liberated many territories since the invasion, we have witnessed atrocities that mirror the horror of the Nazi regime. We have also seen the Ukrainian army continue to recover lands taken by Russia and liberate people who were terrorized by the occupation. And we have seen Russia increasing threaten Ukraine and the world with nuclear weapons. Indeed, the situation is still one that demands we pray without ceasing! 

Everywhere I go, people ask me how they can pray for Ukraine and the war. In March, just days after the invasion, I wrote this article about praying imprecatory psalms. I think these reminders are still helpful today as we continue to pray for an end to this war and an end to the Russian occupation. So, I decided to reprint this to remind us to pray…. 

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: 

1. 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. 

2. 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. 

3. 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. 

4. 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 … Busy, Busy, Busy! 

I am still teaching in Ukraine even though I am currently in the US. This summer, Kyiv Theological Seminary decided to offer the spring classes for students because the invasion cancelled them. So, this summer, Natalia Tereschenko and I taught Research and Critical Thinking for 31 students. We just finished grading all the papers from this class. This is one of our favorite classes and one of the most helpful for students.  

While I was teaching this month (October), one of the students in the Evangelism class told me about his experience with the class. He told me that when he saw he was required to take this class, he was very angry and did not want to waste his time taking a class on writing. So, he went to his pastor (who is also the director of Pastoral Ministries) and complained to him. He came to seminary to take biblical classes, not writing classes. The director, who is one of our graduates, told him that he had taken the class several years before and that it was the best class he had and that it helped him more in his pastoral ministry than any other. Still reluctant, this student took the class this summer. During our Evangelism class, he told me that he too felt it was the best class ever and that he uses what we taught whenever he is preparing to teach anything! While many students tell me the same about this class, I am constantly encouraged every time someone tells me this.  

Also, this month, I taught an online course in Evangelism for our church planters. I met with them every morning from 10:00-12:00 to review materials and answer questions. It was a wonderful time talking about theological issues in evangelism as well as discussing practical ways to reach people in the 21^st century. It was a special joy to have Sergey Bochko translate for me even though he is currently in Croatia due to the war. 

I am frantically working on getting everything ready for teaching 3 online classes in November! I will be teaching two of them at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary in Lviv and one at Kyiv Theological Seminary. I will be teaching classes in Prayer, Worship and Church History. I have never taught so many classes in one month before and I already know it will be an exhausting month! It looks like I will be very busy teaching on-line classes for at least another year or so. Please be praying for my preparation, my teaching and my time! 

I continue to be impressed with how both seminaries continue to minister and train students during the war in Ukraine. At Kyiv Theological Seminary, former student and current professor, Natalie Dudka organized a conference to encourage and minister to those ministering the gospel during the war. (She and her husband were both students and now they are professors at KTS). And over 400 new students applied to study at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary this fall!  

In addition to teaching these classes, I have been asked to speak about Ukraine a number of times since we have been here in the states. At the end of September, Katya and I both spoke at a Baptist Church in Ft. Smith. We shared about life and ministry in Ukraine during Sunday School, and I preached during the main worship service. It was Katya’s first time to present in English. She was nervous but did fantastic.  

At the end of October, I will be teaching 2 times at Northwest Arkansas for the Nations conference for missionaries. I will be teaching on A Theology of Suffering and Ministry and also on Ministry in Ukraine. Pray for me as I try to help encourage and train prospective and career missionaries at this conference. 

Major Decisions ….  

As you read in our previous updates, Katya and I and the girls decided to evacuate from Ukraine in January. We have been greatly blessed by your prayers and help as we have tried to resettle here in the US. We are now staying in missionary housing at Hiding Place Hollow. This is a great ministry to missionaries and, for the first time since we came back to the states, we actually feel like we are “home.” We will be able to stay here through the Spring and then we need to find someplace else. 

Because of the on-going hostilities and because we were planning to return to the states in a couple of years, we decided that we need to use this time to plan for the future. The cost of housing is more than we can handle so we decided that we should try to build something like we built in Ukraine. We found some land in Fayetteville but outside the city limits (no building codes!) and we are hoping to close on it sometime this month. We have a friend who is a contractor here that is helping us with plans and subs. Our goal is to get everything into the dry before January and then we will slowly work on the finish work through the spring. We are going to try to get enough done by summer that we can move in (no COP required where we are building!). We plan to have concrete floor until we can afford to put down other flooring and we will be doing almost all the finish work ourselves.  

Our house in Ukraine is still okay. We spoke to a realtor there about selling but he said to wait and see next spring. Now prices are less than 50% of value and very few people are willing to take a risk with buying until they see how the war is going. Also, we have had some friends ask to stay in the home over the winter because we have a woodstove for heating and a cellar that can be used as a bomb shelter (like last year). We want to help them out so they will be safer and warm no matter what happens this winter. In the Spring, if the house is still standing, we will look into selling but we expect that we will have trouble getting much for it because of the war and depressed economy in Ukraine. But it will help us a lot if we can sell it next spring or summer. 

Continue to pray for us to have wisdom as we take these steps. We are excited and nervous, and we have a lot of sadness about Ukraine. Almost every day, one of us gets emotional wishing we could be back in Ukraine. While we think we are now headed toward staying in the US permanently, we still might go back to Ukraine for a short while depending on needs and the situation in Ukraine. Since we are self-building, we can put things on hold if we think we need to return. But most likely we will just return for some teaching opportunities and mission trips as the Lord allows.  

Family … 

During our time here, we have been doubly blessed in so many ways. We have been able to spend precious time with my grandchildren. We were able to be here for Sullivan and Harlie’s birthdays. And we had a great weekend celebrating Harlie’s birthday at New Life Ranch. 

We also were able to be part of a Medieval festival while we were studying about the Middle Ages. The girls got to make bracelets and shoot arrows. We also were able to participate in celebrating Evelyn Stillwell’s birthday too. The Stillwells hosted us in their home for the last 8 months since we arrived from Ukraine. They have been a really special blessing. Also, at the party, we were able to see many of the internationals that they minister to regularly. 

Katya’s mother finally made it to the states (California) last month and it has been great to be able to talk with her by phone. She is still waiting on all her immigration documents so she can travel to visit us. We are hoping she will get everything before Thanksgiving. We would like to have her come to AR and visit us over Thanksgiving. Please keep praying for Katya’s documents. She still does not have her documents for immigration. She needs them especially so she can start to work on getting her driver’s license. 

Pray for Ukraine … 

Please continue to pray for Ukraine and for Russia. Pray that the Russian people will rise up and change this evil government in Russia that seems willing to destroy Ukraine and everything in it to achieve Putin’s goals. This is so sad to see as it is causing tremendous loss of life and trauma for both Ukrainians and Russians.  

Pray for the Ukrainian army to continue to be effective in liberating Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Pray for our students and graduates that they can continue to minister the gospel and the love of Christ in these terrible times. And pray that God will continue to “break the teeth” of those who practice such horrible evil in this war! 

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/ . 

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