A Hawk Pierced by its Own Quill ~ A Spiritual Warfare Prayer

Psalm 140: 11

"Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him."

Author's note: The following meditations are drawn from the heart of David's prayers in the Psalms. They have been gently paraphrased to help you reflect more deeply on God's Word and His unchanging character.

I’ll get straight to the point, Lord. Rescue me! Please!  I'm not too proud to beg. There are people out there who want to eliminate me and erase my name from the history books! They want to revoke my visa for the land of the living and deport me to Sheol. Defend me from these men of malice. Please hear my spiritual warfare prayer, Abba.

They gather behind closed doors and conspire to bring about my downfall. They are obsessed with my destruction. They are sharpening their arrows and painting a bulls-eye on my back.

They’ve planned their strategy well, Lord. Hatred alone won’t do the trick. They want to discredit me by smearing insults and insinuations about my character. If they turn others against me, humanity’s cynical nature will do the rest. Sooner or later, their poison would take effect.

But I know You’re always standing by with an antidote, Father. You see how their plots are emerging. They ready their hands eagerly, fingers itching to tie the noose. They camouflage the trap door and lure me with trite platitudes to stand on the “X!”

I’m afraid to take a step in any direction! They set hoaxes to my left and cons to my right, tricks before me and deceptions behind. I’m entirely engulfed with smoke and mirrors!

Selah (That's Hebrew for "mic drop.")

Listen to my cries for help, Lord. Please hear the desperation in my voice. I remind myself that there is only one direction I can cast a gaze for my salvation: Upward!

Father God, You have delivered me before on many occasions. You have helped me out of more near misses than I can count, just enough to develop my faith muscles. With every battle, Father, you strip away the fat of my self-reliance, leaving only the defined muscle of a faith that leans on You.

Stop them in their tracks, Lord. Don’t let them succeed with their wicked plans. Snuff out their evil strategies. Send a downpour on their sputtering candle of malice.

Selah

There is always one instigator in every hateful conspiracy. Let his arrogance be his downfall, Lord. Make the poison that he spews blow back in his face and let every evil spoken be revisited on each one of his followers.

Let every trap be their grave; every trick be their tomb; every con be their crypt. Let an exclamation point hover above their burial chamber, Lord.

• Let the hunters become the hunted, Father. Let these birds of prey be shot with the arrows made of the feathers from their own bodies. Hear me, Lord, Let sin overthrow sin.

  
  

Lord God, justice for the destitute flows from Your hand, and the prayers of the helpless rise to your ears. Those who know You, Lord, love You. Father, we bless Your holy Name.

Baruch Ata Adonai.