Read the Word:
Psalm 55:1-15
Meditate on the Word:
I will admit to having an uncomfortable relationship with psalms like this, called imprecatory psalms. This is the type of psalm where the author is praying for God’s judgment or calamity upon his enemies. It seems “bad” to me to pray for the destruction of enemies, particularly in light of Jesus’ command to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43). Yet, I fully understand the impulse to ask God to “let them go to Sheol alive.” The great thing about God is that he is big enough to handle our true feelings.
There have been many days when I could easily identify with these words of David. His poetic imagery gives a great expression to feelings that we might otherwise struggle with expressing. And God allows, even encourages us to come to Him expressing our sorrows, our grief, our anger, and the whole range of emotions that we feel. Why else would he include these words in the Holy Scriptures. He gave us our emotions and He already knows how we feel. God is simply giving us permission to be honest about our feelings to Him. And isn’t that important in any relationship?
Pray the Word:
Express to God any emotion that you are experiencing today, and ask Him to bring you through whatever situation is causing these feelings.
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