Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. PSALM 10:15
There is no doubt what this prayer is about. It is all about wicked people. It is about evil that seemed to David to be coming in like a flood. It is an outpouring of the grief and distress that a godly person feels when evil becomes rampant.
When David sees evil multiplying in the land, he takes time to lay out the problem before God. This is important when we are praying about the darkness that is in the world. Don’t rush over the problem. Spell it out before God in detail.
There are 18 verses in this psalm, and 11 of them are given to a sustained description of the character and activities of the wicked:
- In arrogance, the wicked hotly pursue the poor (10:2)
- For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul (10:3)
- In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him [God] (10:4)
- [The wicked’s] ways prosper at all times (10:5)
- He says in his heart “I shall not be moved” (10:6)
- His mouth is filled with cursing (10:7)
- He sits in ambush in the villages (10:8)
This is what you do when you share a problem with a friend. You sit down together over lunch and you tell the story—in detail. Do the same with God. Tell Him the whole story.
What problem do you need to spell out before God in detail?
Written by Colin Smith
Read by Sue McLeish
