Day 664: Don't give up praying – Psalm 10

1 O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? 2-3 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others, for they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord. 4-6 The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think God is dead - yet they succeed in everything they do! They don't see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies. They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!” 7-9 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats - trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues. They lurk in ambush in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They are always searching for helpless victims. Like lions crouched in hiding, they wait to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture the helpless and drag them away in nets. 10-11 Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked. The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

12-13 Arise, O Lord; punish the wicked, O God! Don’t ignore the helpless! Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.” 14-16 But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans. Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed. The Lord is king forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the land. 17-18 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them. Psalm 10 (From the New Living Translation) English Standard Version link

In vs 12 &13 the writer says ”Arise, O Lord, punish the wicked, O God! Don't ignore the helpless! Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, 'God will never call us to account!'” He says there what has surely been a problem for God fearing people through the ages. Some might say: “Isn't that harsh? Asking God to punish wrongdoers!” But look again at vs 4-11 to see the sort of wickedness that angered and exasperated him. He isn't talking about someone who’s dropped litter on the sidewalk, or had a noisy party next door.

Those verses describe people who are arrogant in their defiance of God. They go about looking for others to harm – particularly the most vulnerable. Verses 16-18 say this attitude can be true of nations as well as individuals. The problem for the writer, and for God fearing people in general, is why does God allow such wickedness to thrive? He says in vs 1 it's as if God is “standing far away”, even “hiding” when helpless people are in trouble! Yet, despite his grief, do you think he felt that all was lost? (vs 14-18)

He says that God DOES see what happens in the world and it matters to Him when the vulnerable are abused. God hears the cries of those who suffer because of the wicked and He is a King who WILL act. Jesus told a story to teach us to never give up on prayer! It was about a widow seeking justice – but she had to deal with a judge who wasn't God fearing, and who wasn't interested in her case. But, because she nagged him continually, he eventually gave her the justice she was seeking. And Jesus said: “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?” (Luke 18:6-8)

Because God doesn't deal with wickedness immediately it doesn't mean He is far away or hiding! It may be that we've grown weary in the conflict and weak in our faith, and given up in our prayers. We need to get back to coming boldly before God's throne and to pray concerning the evil that is spreading in the world. Ask God to show wicked people that they are mere men, and that Jesus is King forever! It may look for now as if the wicked are succeeding in all they do - but there will be a day of reckoning. Don't give up praying.