Mensa Otabil - Break the Power of the Wicked
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We’re still in Psalm 10, and we look at verse 15: «Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; seek out his wickedness until you find none.» Now, if you pay attention to this psalm, it starts with the psalmist asking questions. He seems despondent and discouraged by what the wicked are doing around him, but then he shifts in his meditation to the Lord and says, «God, I know you see what is going on and that you will do something about it.»
Now, in verse 10, he is making a bold request to the Lord. He has moved from thinking God is not doing anything about the situation to now believing that God will address what he is going through and that he can make his request to the Lord. That’s helpful for us as we pray; we can start with uncertainty, but we must always end with confidence in the Lord. That’s what prayer is about.
Look at the two prayer requests he places before God. First, he says, «Lord, break the arm of the wicked and the evil man.» «Break the arm of the wicked» refers to the might of the wicked. The arm here is not literally the arm of the wicked. In other words, he is not praying, «God, go and take the hand of the wicked man and break it.» He’s saying, «Lord, disempower the strength of the wicked. Lord, take down his power and disarm every evildoer.» That’s what our prayer is: we pray that God will disarm every evil weapon set against us, and that the advantage evil and wicked people have over us will be taken away. God will break the arm and render them powerless.
So that’s the first thing he’s praying for; he says, «Lord, don’t let them be powerful against me."Then he makes a second request. He says, «Lord, seek out his wickedness until you find none.»
Now, what is he talking about? He’s saying, «Lord, uproot all the work of the evil person.» The psalmist has a sense that this wicked person has done a lot and has probably infiltrated deeply around him. He’s using those systems against him, so he says, «Lord, seek them out.» In other words, «Lord, look for all the things he has done, all the wicked things he has planted, all the agendas he has set, and pull them out one by one. Disarm the wicked person. Investigate all he has done until every evil deed is exposed and judged.»
That is a very useful prayer that we should also be praying to the Lord. When we go through difficulties and find ourselves overwhelmed by circumstances far bigger than us and people far stronger than us, we should also pray that the Lord will disarm the wicked; that He will take their strength from them. We should also pray that God will look at everything that has been planted for evil, seek them out, and uproot them. It is in answering this prayer that God delivers us from evil.
Now, I know sometimes people literally want to see wicked people physically harmed, but that’s up to God. God’s work is not to physically harm even your enemy; God’s work is to disarm them so that they are powerless against you. That’s what you really want. You don’t really care whether they are harmed or not; all you care about is that God delivers you from them so that they have no power over you. God seeks out all the things they have planted against you and uproots them. In the end, that is the prayer we desire from the Lord.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, you are the defender of those who trust in you. Disarm the wicked and uproot their evil works. In Jesus' name, amen.» I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.