James 5:16-18 records how God answered Elijah’s imprecatory prayer* for a terrible drought that took the lives of untold numbers:

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”

As a God-fearing man, Elijah loved God and his country, but recognized in light of Moses’ law that she had fallen into apostasy. Undoubtedly Elijah took no delight in asking God for judgment. Yet, out of love for his country’s ultimate well-being, and, pre-eminently for YHWH his God’s glory, he prayed according to the terms of God’s covenant for a judgment on his people.

Such judgment played a role in eventually bringing Israel back to God and vindicating His name. God used it to bring His people to repentance, after which abundant showers came from heaven (I Kings 18).

Scripture teaches and fully approves of such prayers and leaves it up to God to answer according to His own sovereign, wise, and good will.  He “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).

Judging by God’s word, the fact that I (an evangelical minister) prayed a prayer requesting a judgment involving the very events of 911 before the attacks on 911, and then the very same events happened on that same morning, I conclude that God answered my prayer no less than He did Elijah’s.

The Story

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I began to realize God was at work chastening me through some of our circumstances. I could relate that morning to Asaph’s 73rd Psalm.  Asaph confessed “Truly God is good to Israel” –  yes His steadfast love and gracious kindness towards His people is everlasting! –  yet Asaph was tempted to envy the wicked. Why? Because though they have no fear of God, their circumstances didn’t seem to indicate it, for they bulged with abundance and ease,  while he, who continually sought to “wash his hands in innocence”  felt as though he were “chastened every morning” by God.

Asaph’s psalm helped me regain a steady control of my spirit. The Holy Spirit through him reminded me of the truth of the gospel I had heard in the sanctuary:

  • How our Creator is “very good” (Genesis 1:31), lovingly making man in His own image in righteousness and holiness and with every blessing; yet how man most unreasonably rebelled against God.
  • How we all as sinners deserved the terrors of hell eternally – to be “utterly consumed with terrors”.
  • How God’s Son Jesus had –in His infinite grace towards me as one of His redeemed- suffered those terrors in my place.
  • How those trusting God’s Messiah Savior are guided by God in this life, and “afterward received” into glory.

These truths comforted and steadied me that though chastened I was on the right track to keep fearing God and obeying His commandments. Yet I dealt with such anguish and frustration of soul I felt I would be blessed to soak up something more from God’s word to deal with the level of frustration I felt.

I then turned farther to Psalm 79 and my eyes fell on the words – “pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You…” . I remembered that when God’s chastened people humble themselves, repent of their sins and seek God’s forgiveness, they may rightly cry out for God to punish the wicked for His Name’s sake. I knew Scripture taught such prayers rightly prayed had a redemptive and good purpose- to advance Christ’s kingdom.  I immediately knew what I would do.  I would pour out my heart in an imprecatory prayer.

Though I tremendously loved/love America, I saw that it obstinately went on thumbing its nose at God in stubborn rebellion against His laws and oppressing the innocent. For decades I’d prayed God would cause America to repent and bless America.  I had preached, marched, written to judges, congressmen and Presidents, but all to no avail. We continued in our idiotic idolatry, murdering millions of innocent babies by abortion, and committing ever grosser immorality. Desiring then America’s ultimate restoration and blessing, but knowing it would take God’s judgment to get it there, I determined to pray a strong imprecatory prayer against it that morning.

Getting down on my knees, I cried out to God like the Psalmists did:

“Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and earth, You who dwell between the cherubim, great, holy, and awesome are You! You deserve and are worthy of all the praise, love, obedience and thanks of all men and all nations for You created them and by Your will they exist! Lord, we owe You everything!

But we have rebelled against You and yet You sent Your own beloved Son to die for us that we might have life forever!

Lord, I was super frustrated today. Because it seems that I and my mother too and others have sought to be and do what is right in Your sight and yet it feels that we get chastened every morning, while the wicked (I thought of/mentioned some institutions) seem to prosper with abounding ill gotten wealth and oppression!

Lord, I’m convinced that my mother went to an early grave also because of all the stress and oppression weighing down on her that all these wicked people put her and the other saints in our nation under!

Lord, I pray that You would not allow the righteous to suffer as a result of this prayer- but protect them, and instead cause the wicked to suffer if they will not repent! Lord, we’ve taken You and Your warnings lightly, have gone on murdering babies by abortion, and we think – “if there were a God in heaven like the One in the Bible – and He hated abortion, He’d have shown His anger by now!” Lord, You’re so longsuffering. and I’m so grateful. I want You to save our nation.

But we’ve forgotten and rejected You, and yet cry “God bless America!”  The wicked say, “Christians say that God is angry with our nation for abortion, homosexuality, and compromise with idols. That He’ll punish it! Where’s the judgment?! Everything goes on just fine!”  Lord, look- they murder babies, day after day, month after month, decade after decade! It seems You don’t care.

We don’t think we need You Lord. We trust our military might and our economic accomplishments.  O Lord, let us trust, fear and glorify You!

Show them Your anger! Do something TODAY! Even now! Lord, how long have I and Christians prayed? Lord, please, in one sense I do not want to pray this, but as Your word also shows, Your Name is being trampled and people go on aborting and sinning, because they see nothing. They interpret Your longsuffering as though You don’t care.

Lord, we murder thousands everyday!  Perhaps its time, day after day of murdering thousands of little humans and thinking nothing of it, for You to just one day, yes Lord, even THIS day, make it appear before them THIS day, how ghastly it is to You by taking the lives of thousands of ADULT Americans.

We need again to FEAR You! Cause us to Lord! That we might turn back to You.

Perhaps we should have our Pentagon attacked today, showing us NOT to trust in our military might, but in You.

Perhaps we should have the Twin Towers attacked today, not just a scare after the bomb like years ago but actually having the towers come down showing us NOT to trust in our own economic might, but in You! (Lord, if You do, please, if it be Your will, cause those about to die to cry out to You for their soul’s salvation!)

Lord, for Your glory, not because I want to see anyone die, but because our nation won’t listen, thumbing its nose at You, do something even NOW, in the next HOURS, if You think it is right and just and the right time to do it, in order that it might know that the God of the Bible is God, that He reigns over all nations through His Son Jesus, that they may know those who break covenant with You will suffer- unless they repent, that they might know You as the wonderful God and Savior You are!  That Psalm 2 is true of You and Your Messiah Jesus!

Lord, I’ve prayed so long for repentance so that we would not need Your judgments, but our nation has been so obstinate! Lord, to me it would seem better to have a judgment like this involving temporal deaths in order that MILLIONS might turn from their sins and unto You and so be saved from eternal death which is eternally worse!

Lord, if it be righteous in Your judgment, cause our nation to fear You today by causing it to see only a little of Your wrath, not all we deserve, but enough to make us tremble and to call us back to You.

And then –if You do, I will tell the President and the media that we do see the God of the Bible’s wrath; that You are the one true and living God; that Your Word IS true; that we MUST as a nation repent of our abortion, sodomy, pluralistic idolatry and other sins, lest we suffer more of Your judgment! Yet that they need not run from You, for You delight in saving, for You sent Your Son Jesus into the world!

Lord if You do, then I can tell how because You are so gracious You save all hell deserving sinners who come to You freely- not by works but by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!

Lord, I don’t want anyone to suffer, but Your word teaches that sometimes we need to call down Your wrath, that men might fear You, for Your glory is most important.

Hear me Lord, and do it in order to ultimately bless America.  And Lord, if You answer, please use it somehow to bring about Israel’s salvation as well, since You promised that You would save Israel in Romans 11.  [And I prayed the Lord’s prayer] for and in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

I prayed with the greatest earnestness and importunity I have ever prayed any prayer with. I was determined to have my answer!  I would not let God go.   I was giving heart and soul and mind and strength for it- pouring everything into that prayer. I was determined that if God would not grant the prayer I was asking, it would not be because I had not called on Him and poured out my soul as fully as I knew how seeking Him through Jesus.  I figure it must have been approximately 30 minutes before the attacks that I prayed this under God’s blue skies in Ashville, Alabama.

I did not know if my Triune God would answer as I requested or not. He did.

I have good hope and solid confidence He will somehow yet use this event, despite my failures, to bless and save Israel, America and millions to the praise of the glory of His Name.  Find out why I am confident of that in another post.

“If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?….The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:8b)

 

* For a biblical explanation of imprecatory prayer and the righteousness of praying such prayers, stay tuned for an upcoming article on the same.

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