Several days ago, the Religion News Service blog noted a controversy in which a Southern Baptist pastor in California emailed his congregation encouraging them to engage in imprecatory (curses) prayers directed against (amongst others) Rev. Barry Lynn and his Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
The use of the imprecatory psalms has fallen out of favor in many circles, so this is an interesting case study in the proper use of these psalms (3, 58, 83, etc). This topic has been covered in Touchstone on more than one occasion. Most recently in the November 2006 issue in an article by John N. Day called The Pillars of Imprecation (not online yet). Also, Thomas Buchanan’s Breaking Teeth in March 2004, and John Yocum’s Christ in All the Scriptures in March/April 1998.
Any word on efficacy? The effectual, fervent prayer, etc….
I asked one of my Sunday School 5th grades to pray for the election outcome this last Sunday. Perhaps because of my vigorous enforcement of our classroom rule that all Iraq prayers prominently include the word “Victory”, he figured I must want him to get specific as to candidate. Well, it might have been inappropriately partisan, but I hope the Lord heard him.