Imprecatory prayer refers to the invocation of judgment, calamity, or curses upon one's enemies or those perceived as the enemies of God. This form of prayer is most prominently found in the Psalms, where the psalmists call upon God to enact justice against the wicked. The term "imprecatory" is derived from the Latin "imprecari," meaning "to invoke evil upon" or "to curse."

Biblical Examples

The imprecatory psalms are a distinct category within the Psalter, characterized by their calls for divine retribution. Notable examples include:

· Psalm 5:10: "Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many transgressions, for they have rebelled against You."
· Psalm 35:4-6: "May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan my harm be turned back and confounded. May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away. May their path be dark and slippery, as the angel of the LORD pursues."
· Psalm 109:8-9: "May his days be few; may another take his position. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow."

These prayers reflect a deep yearning for justice and the vindication of God's righteousness. They are often uttered in contexts of severe persecution or when the psalmist is confronted with profound injustice.

Theological Considerations

Imprecatory prayers raise complex theological questions about the nature of justice, mercy, and the character of God. They reflect the tension between the call for justice and the New Testament's emphasis on love and forgiveness. Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, encourage believers to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).

However, imprecatory prayers are not merely expressions of personal vengeance. They are appeals to God's justice and sovereignty, recognizing that ultimate judgment belongs to Him alone. The psalmists' cries for retribution are rooted in a desire for God's name to be honored and His moral order to be upheld.

New Testament Context

While the New Testament does not contain imprecatory prayers in the same manner as the Psalms, it acknowledges the reality of divine judgment. The Apostle Paul, for example, writes in Romans 12:19, "Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: 'Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.'" This underscores the principle that believers are to trust in God's justice rather than seeking personal revenge.

The Book of Revelation also contains imprecatory elements, as seen in the prayers of the martyrs: "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell on the earth and avenge our blood?" (Revelation 6:10). This reflects a longing for the fulfillment of God's righteous judgment.

Practical Application

In contemporary Christian practice, imprecatory prayers are approached with caution and humility. Believers are encouraged to examine their motives, ensuring that their desire for justice aligns with God's will and character. The imprecatory psalms can serve as a reminder of the seriousness of sin and the reality of divine justice, prompting believers to seek God's righteousness while extending grace and forgiveness to others.

Ultimately, imprecatory prayers invite Christians to entrust their grievances to God, confident in His perfect justice and timing. They serve as a powerful reminder of the tension between justice and mercy, calling believers to navigate this balance with wisdom and faithfulness.Numbers 16:15
And Moses was very wroth, and said to the LORD, Respect not you their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
Nave's Topical Index

Numbers 22:6-11
Come now therefore, I pray you, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.
Nave's Topical Index

Numbers 23:7,8
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
Nave's Topical Index

Numbers 24:9,10
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesses you, and cursed is he that curses you.
Nave's Topical Index

Deuteronomy 11:29,30
And it shall come to pass, when the LORD your God has brought you in to the land where you go to possess it, that you shall put the blessing on mount Gerizim, and the curse on mount Ebal.
Nave's Topical Index

Deuteronomy 27:11-13
And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,
Nave's Topical Index

Deuteronomy 33:11
Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
Nave's Topical Index

Joshua 8:33,34
And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
Nave's Topical Index

Judges 16:28
And Samson called to the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray you, and strengthen me, I pray you, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Nave's Topical Index

2 Samuel 16:10-12
And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why have you done so?
Nave's Topical Index

Nehemiah 4:4,5
Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach on their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
Nave's Topical Index

Nehemiah 5:13
Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that performes not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.
Nave's Topical Index

Job 3:1-10
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
Nave's Topical Index

Job 27:7
Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he that rises up against me as the unrighteous.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 5:10
Destroy you them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against you.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 6:10
Let all my enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 9:20
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 10:2,15
The wicked in his pride does persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 25:3
Yes, let none that wait on you be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 28:4
Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 31:17,18
Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called on you: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 35:4,8,26
Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 40:14,15
Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 54:5
He shall reward evil to my enemies: cut them off in your truth.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 55:9,15
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 56:7
Shall they escape by iniquity? in your anger cast down the people, O God.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 58:7
Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 59:5,11,15
You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 68:1,2
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 69:23,24,27,28
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 70:2,3
Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 71:13
Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 79:10,12
Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of your servants which is shed.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 83:13-17
O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 94:2
Lift up yourself, you judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 109:7,9-20,28,29
When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 119:78,84
Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in your precepts.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 129:5
Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 140:9,10
As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 143:12
And of your mercy cut off my enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 144:6
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out your arrows, and destroy them.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 11:20
But, O LORD of hosts, that judge righteously, that try the reins and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them: for to you have I revealed my cause.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 12:3
But you, O LORD, know me: you have seen me, and tried my heart toward you: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 15:15
O LORD, you know: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in your long-suffering: know that for your sake I have suffered rebuke.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 17:18
Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring on them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 18:21-23
Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 20:12
But, O LORD of hosts, that try the righteous, and see the reins and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them: for to you have I opened my cause.
Nave's Topical Index

Lamentations 1:22
Let all their wickedness come before you; and do to them, as you have done to me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.
Nave's Topical Index

Lamentations 3:64-66
Render to them a recompense, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
Nave's Topical Index

Galatians 1:8,9
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Nave's Topical Index

2 Timothy 4:14,15
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
Nave's Topical Index

The History of the Psalter
... unlovely emotion of hatred is frankly expressed in certain of the imprecatory psalms ...
natural appendix, the book of Lamentations, was the song and prayer book of ...
/.../the origin and permanent value of the old testament/xii the history of the.htm

Psalms
... or are lessened on this interpretation, eg, the bitterness of the imprecatory psalms,
or ... hearts, in the assurance that He was the hearer of prayer, and that ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/psalms.htm

What is fervent prayer (James 5:16)? | GotQuestions.org

What is listening prayer? Are listening prayers biblical? | GotQuestions.org

Is there evidence that God answers prayer? | GotQuestions.org

Prayer: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus