Psalm 109

Psalm 109:4 In return for my love, they slander me, even though I prayed for them. 

The “them” David is referring to are his enemies. Even though David claims to have prayed for them, and given them nothing but love, they still attack him. The point here is that David prayed for his enemies. David turned to God with his pain, asking God to show his hand in the evil doing. David was not going to take action against his enemies. He left the revenge to God.

In Romans 12:19, we read, “Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” It is so easy to get caught up in emotions when someone has done us wrong. I try to explain this to my children several times a day it seems. I tell them not to attack their sibling because they were wronged, but to pray about it. That nothing is really solved through violence (or breaking their siblings fort on purpose), and God is watching how their sibling has treated them. He is also watching how they reacted. They should pray for their enemy (sometimes a sibling seems like an enemy at this age) instead, that God may open their hearts to kindness and understanding, that their inner battles be calmed. I figure if this thought process can be understood about their fighting with siblings, it can prepare their hearts and minds for the things and people they will come against the rest of their lives.

The same thought should be used with adults. We all have our beliefs about leadership roles, and those in leadership positions. If we don’t care for those who are in charge, maybe instead of vehemently complaining about the person, we should pray for them with the same passion. Our world is in desperate need of prayers right now, and things only change from the top down. Praying to God shows that while we may not understand his will, we accept that he has people in place for a reason. Praying for our enemies shows we have compassion for those who may be lost in their own sin, but that we are wise enough to leave that up to God.

David, in this chapter, was praying for the ruin of his enemies, but still left it up to God to answer the prayers. Through Jesus, we now understand we should pray for the good of our enemies, not their ruin.