SYNOPSIS: God is very clear that consequences follow sin; the law of sowing and reaping is unmistakable in Scripture. Yet the psalmist, Asaph, along with other Biblical writers, often placed their hope in God’s mercy—then prayed like crazy for a crop failure. I think it’s okay to pray for a crop failure. In fact, I would even say it’s wise to pray that way. Why? God may just substitute his mercy for his discipline. Micah 7:18 tells us, “Mercy is your specialty.” Since mercy and grace are what makes God, God, why not tap into them and pray for the restoration of a once mighty nation—or perhaps, a once blessed life!
An Impassioned Intercession // Psalm 80:19
How do you pray for a once-godly nation that is now suffering the just punishment for rebellion? You do what the psalmist did: Boldly, persistently and unashamedly pray for restoration![/callout]
Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
Three times the psalmist made the exact same appeal for the restoration of Israel—Psalm 80:3,7,19. Each appeal is more intense than the previous, building to this crescendo of importunity in the final verse. He even sneaks in another plea for revival in the penultimate verse: “Revive us so we can call on your name once more.” (Ps. 80:18) This guy is bent on national renewal in Israel through a spiritual awakening!
What is interesting about Psalm 80—which you would agree is especially applicable for America right now—is that this desperate cry for restoration came during a time when the Almighty had removed his blessing because of the nation’s persistent rebellion. It was most likely written at the tail end of the Northern Kingdom’s rebellious run as a nation, and they were suffering the harsh reality of life without the protective hand of God—deservedly so!
How like America! We, too, have strayed from our once declared dependence upon the Almighty’s protective hand. We have abandoned the collective sense of our national raison d’être: To serve God’s purposes in the earth. We have bowed at the idol of political ideology, conflating our politics with Kingdom value’s. And let me be clear, the Christian nationalism that is growing in America is nothing less than idolatrous! Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36)
We have traveled so far down the road of spiritual rebellion—both sinner AND saint—that God will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if he withholds punishment on this nation much longer. That is really what we deserve. But in reality, isn’t what was true of Israel, and what is true of America, true of you and me, too? At the end of the day, aren’t we all undeserving of anything but God’s judgment?
Yet what is even more interesting about Psalm 80 is that the appeal for restoration is not based on the worthiness of Israel, it is rather rooted in the immutable character of God—who is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and delights to show mercy rather than send calamity! (Psalm 103:8-14, Joel 2:13, Micah 7:18)
God has been very clear that consequences will follow sin; the law of sowing and reaping is unmistakably clear in Scripture. Yet the psalmist, along with other Biblical writers, often placed their hope in the mercy of God—and prayed like crazy for a crop failure.
I think it’s okay to pray for a crop failure. In fact, I would even say it’s wise to pray that way. Why? God may just substitute his mercy for discipline. The Message translation says of God in Micah 7:18,
Mercy is your specialty.
Since mercy and grace are what makes God, God, why not tap into them and pray for the restoration of a once mighty nation—and perhaps, a once blessed life!
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