“Instead of the times defining the Church, this strategy of intercession — praying imprecatory prayers — will enable us to define the times.” — David White, “Imprecatory Prayers,” Morningstar Journal.

As intercessors, we have many weapons at our disposal to enter the spiritual battle led by our Lord. The Scripture describes our weapons that are not of the flesh, but which do have divine power to bring down and destroy strongholds (see 2 Corinthians 10:4). Our spiritual arsenal includes prayer; decree and declaration; prophetic acts; the blood of Christ; the name of Jesus; worship and praise; thanksgiving; unconditional love; and the word of God.

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Have you taken your place on the wall?

In His word, the Lord has written down His righteous judgments that are forever established (see Psalm 119:160). The writer of Psalm 149 describes one of the ways we have honor as God’s saints: To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron … (Psalm 149:7–8 NKJV). This is how we joyfully wage a righteous war, declaring the high praises of God with our mouths, and wielding the “double-edged sword” of His word in our hands. The result? The written judgments of God executed on His enemies. This is the honor given to His saints — and that’s us!

Define the Terms

Let us start with a definition of imprecatory prayer. Dictionary.com defines the world imprecate this way: “to invoke or call down evil upon, or to curse as a person.” By extension, imprecatory praying is coming into agreement with God’s written judgments (imprecations) against His enemies and declaring them on earth as they are already established in heaven. As David White explains in his article: “Imprecatory prayer is not placing curses upon our enemies out of vengeance or the wrath of man, which will never produce God’s righteousness. Rather we acknowledge God as supreme and declare what He said He would do and who He would be on the earth.”

Moreover, says White: “Praying imprecatory prayers out of the Psalms is our agreeing with what God has said regarding the wicked with the hope that the wicked will awaken and turn to the Lord before they perish.”

All of this requires discernment on the part of the intercessor, as well as lots of time spent in His presence, allowing Him to sift the motives of our hearts (see Hebrews 4:12). We are told explicitly in Romans 12 to feed our hungry enemy, and to give him drink, and by doing so, we heap fiery coals on his head (see verse 20). Doing good to our enemies this way, loving them unconditionally even though they do evil against us, allows God to heap fiery coals on their consciences, and we can pray that this will lead them to repentance (see Romans 2:4). Praying this way allows God to work in our own lives too, to soften our hearts toward our enemies so that we’ll have compassion on them for their eternal destiny, and to remove bitterness and anger from our hearts.

Jesus was anointed above all His companions by the Father with the oil of joy. For what reason? In Psalm 45 we are told that He loved righteousness and hated wickedness. His hatred of all that His father hates and His love for righteousness sets Him apart and makes Him the only righteous judge. We are to be like Him, hating what He hates while remembering that we are not fighting against flesh and blood (see Ephesians 6:12). In Psalm 139, King David asks God to slay the wicked, declaring that he hates those who hate and rise up against God. Then he asks God to sift the motives of his own heart, to search out whether there is any wickedness there that would disqualify him from seeking justice.

God’s word is clear that those who reject the sacrifice of the Son and reject His word are already under a curse. Such were each of us before He reached into history and saved us! The standard was set for us when Jesus said: “And He [the Father] has given Him [Jesus] authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. … I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent me” (John 5:27–30). The Father gave to His Son all authority (see Matthew 28:18), and He, in turn, gave to us all authority to go and destroy the works of the Enemy in His name.

Isaiah calls this type of praying the heritage of the saints (see Isaiah 54:17), as was described in Psalm 149. We will condemn every tongue that rises against us in judgment. How do we do this? By declaring the revealed will of God against His enemies according to His word. We tear down every stronghold and anything that tries to exalt itself against the knowledge of God (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). God’s living and righteous word renders the words, plans, and actions of our enemies null and void (see Psalm 33:8–11).

When Is Imprecatory Prayer Our Weapon of Choice?

As intercessors, we must speak truth into areas in our culture where lies and deception have prevailed. The wicked have used manipulation, intimidation, fear, and even governmental decrees to bring people and nations into captivity. “Left unchallenged, this flood of words will defile many,” writes David White.

We must change the narrative. With King David we cry out: Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues! (Psalm 55:9).

Many years ago, I had a vivid dream in which Derek Prince was a five-star general. In the dream, it was obvious that we were an army at war, but I could see none of the expected weaponry: guns, tanks, missiles, etc. All I could see were two massive sets of speakers — one all black, the other all white — facing each other. When I asked “General Prince” what was going on, he replied that the one who ruled the airwaves would win the war. We are in a war of words, and our words have power! God’s word in our mouths is as powerful as God’s word in His own mouth. Amen.

In GotQuestions.org, we read this explanation of imprecatory praying: “When David prayed for God to shatter the teeth of his enemies, likening them to young lions pursuing him to his death, he was making the point that God is holy, righteous, and just, and He will ultimately judge the wicked for the evil they do. Jesus quoted some of the imprecatory psalms during His earthly ministry. In John 15:25, Jesus quotes Psalm 35:19 and 69:4. Paul also quoted an imprecatory prayer in Romans 11:9–10, which is a quote of Psalm 69:22–23. Since Jesus and Paul quoted verses from these imprecatory psalms, it proves those psalms were inspired by God and counters any allegation that they were sinful or selfish prayers of revenge.”

Other examples of imprecatory prayers are psalms 7, 35, 54, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 120, 137, and 139.

Psalm 109 — A Plea for Judgment on False Accusers

One of my favorite imprecatory psalms is 109. In the New King James Version, the title reads, Plea for Judgment of False Accusers. During this season of fake news, blatant boasting of the evil doers, and baseless accusations against righteous people, this provides rich prayer fodder.

Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred and fought against me without cause (verses 1–3).

This opening sets the stage for us to ask God to act against our enemies, as they are His enemies first and foremost. We can use this psalm’s verses as imprecatory prayer points using God’s own language against His enemies.

• When he [the Enemy] is judged, let him be found guilty;
• Let his days be few and let another take office — this is a particularly good prayer for governmental officials acting wickedly;
• Let creditors seize all that he has and strangers plunder his labor – I pray this along with asking that the wealth of the unrighteous be laid up for the righteous;
• Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. … that He may cut off the memory of them from the earth; because he did not remember to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and the needy. To my mind, this is a very serious prayer. We are asking for people to die unrepentant. I would not recommend praying this without crying out first: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” A time will come, however, when God’s patience will have run its course, and this prayer may be appropriate. Could that have been the case with Ananias and Sapphira (see Acts 5)? Note the “why” of the complainant; God hates those who prey on the poor and needy;
• Help me, O Lord my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, that they may know that this is Your hand — That You, Lord, have done it!

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 (verses 26–29).

Ultimately, even the Psalmist wants his accusers to be clothed with shame — so that they will know that God has vindicated the innocent, and that the one persecuted belongs to the King of Kings. There is the possibility of redemption in almost all the imprecatory psalms. There is an acknowledgment of wrongs, a list of grievances along with acts of vengeance, and justice desired. The very real suffering of the righteous one — I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me (verse 22) — is described and brought before the Lord as well as the sufferers’ desire to see the enemies punished.

Cautions in Imprecatory Prayer

As Holy Spirit leads us into the realm of imprecatory praying, He will keep us on the path of life (see Psalm 16:11). Here are a few ways in which we can examine ourselves, allowing Him to sift our motives:

• As with all spiritual warfare, we must enter that arena with clean hands and a pure heart (see Psalm 24:3–4).
• Psalm 37:8 says: Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. From this verse, we see that if we have anger against our enemies, we must repent of it before we enter into any kind of warfare prayer. Anger leads only to sin and gives Satan a foothold (see Ephesians 4:26–27).
• Imprecatory prayers are not sinful prayers of revenge. Although, in the natural, our enemies may be doing things that cause our hearts to break and a righteous anger to rise up within us, we are then required to go to the word of the Lord and to hear from Him directly, to determine His solution, and not to rely our own carnal ideas. In 2 Samuel 16, Shimei, a man from the house of Saul, curses and throws stones at King David. Abishai, one of David’s mighty men, wants to defend David, but David says to let Shimai alone, because the Lord would later repay David with good for all of the cursing he was enduring. In a New Testament example, the Sons of Thunder call down curses on a Samaritan village that would not receive Jesus. Jesus rebuked them: “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Luke 9:54–56 NKJV). God’s ways are not our ways.
• As we comment on the actions of our enemies, we must be cautious to use the language that He uses, and not to curse our enemies as the world curses. There are terms in Scripture to describe perfectly every form of evil we will encounter: fools, evildoers, the wicked, mockers, scoffers, the lawless, the enemies of God, sinners — these are some of the biblical terms. We must ensure that our language agrees with God’s, because we will be accountable for every idle word (see Matthew 12:36–37).

Let’s give David White the last word: “Imprecatory prayer is confidently declaring ourselves as victorious because of the victories assured us in God’s word. It is not necessarily for the novice intercessor but as circumstances demand and the Holy Spirit confirms, this strategy should be included in the believer’s intercession.”

Let’s pray together this way:

Lead us, O Lord of Lords and King of Kings, into a battle with our enemies that will lead to a harvest of righteousness on the earth. As we see increasing lawlessness and evil in this world, teach us to pray Your word — bringing Your righteous judgments into the earth and allowing Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done. Purify our hearts and motives so that we might see as You see and declare what You call us to declare. Mature us to become Your voice on the earth, freeing captives and releasing the power of righteousness over Your enemies. Amen.

How do you understand God’s will in imprecatory prayer? Share your insights below.

Lori Nicole Meed (Bachelor of Science; Bachelor of Education, Special Education) is a wife, mother, and grandmother who home-schooled her now adult children. In 2004, God moved her family from Canada to the U.S., imparting His heart for the U.S. and for revival. Having walked out her own journey of freedom after being radically born again in 1992, Lori has a heart to see others set free to walk fully in their destiny. She is a leader of an inner-healing and deliverance ministry at her home church in Pennsylvania. She also gathers and equips prayer groups for the U.S. and Israel. Lori has a passion for teaching on aliyah (“going up,” the return of the Jews to the land of Israel), the feasts of the Lord, and the rich connections of the gentile churches to Israel. She is a prayer leader on IFA’s Headline Prayer, as well as being a contributing writer.