Together in Christ: 'End the Evil of Those Who Are Wicked' — Psalm 7:1, 9-11

Monday, November 18, 2024

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors — rescue me!
 
End the evil of those who are wicked, and defend the righteous. For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.
 
God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right. God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day.
— Psalm 7:1, 9-11 NLT

Key Thought

God's people — Israel over the years and Christians since Jesus was on earth — have faced fierce opposition, had property confiscated, been attacked, consistently persecuted, frequently imprisoned, and sometimes murdered. [1] Over the last week, our relationship thoughts have focused on how to behave when we are facing those kinds of hardships. Today's verses come from Psalm 7, a combination of a lament, prayer for help, declaration of faith in God, and song of thanksgiving. As I read David's words and remembered David's life story from shepherd boy to King of Israel, my heart was strengthened. I know how powerfully God worked in David's life and the lives of many others. [2]

Underneath all of these things David does in this psalm is one powerful truth God's people need for times of hardship, opposition, persecution, and martyrdom: we can cry out to God openly, honestly, boldly, and without hesitation and know He cares for us and hears us. This is the truth I want us to focus on today. We can pray for our trials. We can pray for other believers' trials. We can intercede for persecution to stop and for evil to be defeated. We can forcefully ask God to overthrow the wicked and defend the righteous. We can know that God "is angry with the wicked every day." We can be assured that prayer is a great weapon for us in our battles against evil and Satan. [3] We can know that those who are martyred not only go straight to the throne room of heaven when they die but are also interceding for believers on earth who are facing persecution. Their prayers join with those on earth interceding for God's oppressed children on earth. [4]

Part of sharing in a world fellowship of believers means praying for our brothers and sisters facing persecution and evil hostility. We can pray for their safety, courage, deliverance, and boldness to clearly proclaim God's truth. [5] I know you, like me, hate evil and are repulsed by the violence done against godly people by evil people and governments. Together, we can be warriors for good. We can go to war against Satan, evil, and hell by praying for our brothers and sisters facing daily hostility and deadly peril. Please, let's pray together, knowing that when two or three of us agree, the Lord hears, cares, and acts powerfully [6]

[1] Hebrews 10:32-34 is just one example. The book of Acts shares some opposition against Christians, and the letters of 1 Peter and Revelation were written to give hope to persecuted believers.
[2] David went from shepherd boy to giant killer to giant killer to conquering general to King. Hebrews 11:2-40 mentions several great people of faith in our story in the Scriptures.
[3] Ephesians 6:10-12, 18-20.
[4] Revelation 5:6-10, 8:1-5.
[5] Acts 4:23-31; Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-4; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5.
[6] Matthew 18:19.

Today's Prayer

Almighty God and tender Father, please hear the cries of Your people facing opposition, ridicule, persecution, imprisonment, beatings, and martyrdom for their faith. Intervene to end the hostile and evil reign of evil rulers and demonic powers at war against Your people. We believe You can intervene and defeat the power of the wicked. We ask that You do this quickly to reveal Your power and to rescue Your people. We pray this knowing that Jesus is interceding and that He knows from experience the hatred and evil of people controlled by Satan. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • Acts 4:1-31
  • Acts 12:1-19

Comments

Archived Facebook Comments

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Monday, November 18, 2024

Passion for Praise
A daily passage of Scripture emphasizing praise to our God.
'Death is Swallowed Up in Victory!'
"For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our....."
Today's Verse
A daily devotional featuring a Bible verse, thought and prayer.
Acts 11:18
"When they [the Jewish Christians] heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance..."
Daily Wisdom
A daily devotional featuring wise counsel found in Scripture.
Psalm 84:12
"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you."
Praying with Paul
Features the apostle Paul's writings turned into daily, powerful prayers.
'Undivided, Indivisible' (Ph. 2:1-2)
"Dear Father, One God of your one holy people, Help me never to be a party to any division within the body of Christ. Let me be perfectly united in..."

Illustration

Illustration of Psalm 7:1, 9-11 NLT — I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors — rescue me!   End the evil of those who are wicked, and defend the righteous. For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.   God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right. God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day.

About This Devotional

Together in Christ is a daily devotional that focuses on what Scripture teaches about godly living in relationships.

'Together in Christ' is written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

More Together in Christ