Learning to Pray Against Evil

When you begin learning to pray, you must learn how and why to pray against evil. Some only pray for things, or for people, or for certain outcomes. But the Bible, especially the book of Psalms, teaches to how and why to pray against evil in the world. The fifteenth section in Psalm 119 is entitled samekh, 119:113 – 120. The theme of this prayer section is how and why to pray against evil.

The first line identifies evil with the word “double-minded,” “I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.” The Hebrew word for “double-minded” is seep, which means half-hearted, divided, confused. This word is from a root word describing a whirlwind or a storm. In James 1:5 – 8, the Bible describes praying without faith with this same idea, “…but let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

The confession of the first line is a subtle warning of how quickly doubts and unbelief can creep into the mind of a believer. The first thing to learn in praying against evil in the world, is to pray against it in your own life. Recognize any seep in your thoughts. Confess your whole-hearted devotion to God’s word. The next line will guide you in that confession; “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.”

The word “hiding place” is the Hebrew word sayther, which means a secrete place. This is the word that is used in Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” It is used throughout the Psalms to describe the place of personally meeting with God. It is sometimes translated with the word “shelter,” as in a place to protect you from the wind and waves of a storm. This is what Jesus had in mind with His teaching on prayer when He said, “But when you pray, go into your secret place and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” Matthew 6:6. In that secret place, the Father will shine the light of His word on any doubts and unite your thoughts with His to drive out the darkness of doubt in your mind.

The next line is unique in Psalm 119 because it is the only line outside of the introduction (119:1 – 3) that is not addressed directly to God, “Depart from me, you evil-doers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.” The word “evil-doer” is the Hebrew word ra-ah, which means wicked and evil with the understanding of evil activity. It is a root word that developed into the understanding of something broken. It is often used in the Old Testament as something that is place before a person’s eyes, as in a decision to make between good and evil. It was certainly placed before Adam and Eve’s eyes in the garden, which did not have a good outcome. But here the confession is given for a different outcome. Jesus learned this confession as He prayed in the wilderness, “Be gone, Satan…” Matthew 4:10, and again in Matthew 16:23, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

The last three lines of this prayer give further description of evil, “You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.” The word “spurn” is the Hebrew word salah, which means to reject and to cast away. It also has the meaning of weightlessness and no value. This is what the hand wrote on the wall in Daniel 5:24 – 28, “You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting…” King Belshazzar in Daniel’s day had no fear or regard for God or the things of God. The message from the hand as Daniel interpreted it did not faze this wicked king.

The last line brings this to light, “My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.” This does not mean that you are to be afraid of God, rather that you recognize the outcome of those who do not value the weight of God’s glory and His eternal word. Learn to pray against evil as you learn to worship the Father in spirit and truth. Faith gives your life an eternal weight of glory!