The cry you lift up carries a heavy burden, but its direction must be carefully weighed in the scales of the sanctuary. You ask for destruction, yet consider the divine manner in which our Father works. He creates that He may display His own perfections; He does not delight in the bare ruin of any, but even the dry tree, by grace, may flourish. The high tree cut down by the axe of judgment lies outstretched, but it is the Lord alone who wields that axe, in His own time and for His own glory. Our part is not to call down fire, but to commit the matter into His just and merciful hands.
The saint’s trials are indeed variable; the wicked often seem to prosper while the righteous are bowed down. Yet before the psalm is over, the clouds are removed and the heart rejoices in the sunlight of divine love. Our Lord, when He confronted Saul, saw not only the injury done to Himself but the goad against which His persecutor kicked. Even so, in the unselfishness of Christ, we must learn to pity those ensnared by their own malice, for they do greater harm to their own souls than ever they can inflict upon the saints. That is no weakness, but the mind of the Master.
You speak of curses, of spiritual wickedness in high places and on the roadway. Remember always that no curse can land upon the blessed of the Lord unless it falls within the fence of omnipotent overruling. When Shimei cursed David, the king replied, “So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David.” David saw a permission divinely governed. Is this trial outside of God’s rule? It cannot be. It is hopeful when we find that all our ills lie within the sacred zone of providential government. Therefore, instead of praying for their destruction, pray for your own deliverance from the power of darkness, and for your own spirit to be kept from the bitter root that defiles.
The great deliverance is not the cutting off of an enemy, but the breaking of the power of sin and the translation into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. The arrow most often shot at the believer is the lie that God has forsaken him and will shut His ear. But here is the divine buckler: God never has forsaken them that fear Him, and He never will. Jacob, trembling before Esau, found his brother falling on his neck and kissing him. The deliverance came, not by the sword, but by the softening of a heart. Look for God to work miraculously, but not necessarily by the means your anguish demands. He might restrain that rage, calm that harassing spirit, or even, wonder of wonders, pluck the green tree down to humble it unto repentance, and make the dry tree of your long-tried patience to bud and blossom. That is the manner of His kingdom.
This deliverance, when it comes, will be by divine power alone, and you will not dare to share the honor. You feel you can do nothing, and that is the best place to be. He brings forth His own with a high hand, often not by the destruction of the foe, but by making the foe a footstool. The clock of mercy strikes in heaven the hour and moment of our deliverance; it does not need our carnal weapons to hasten its chime. The Son of God was made a curse for us, He bore the true and dreadful curse, so that no wild imprecation from any mortal lips can ultimately harm those who are in Him. The weapon formed against you may prosper in the short sigh of a moment, but it cannot prosper in the eternal verdict.
Set your gaze, then, upon your own conduct after trouble. The text resolves: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” If you had no troubles, you would have less to declare. This trial is the raw material for a new song. But that song must be one of holy gratitude, not of vindictive triumph. Let the prayer now ascend: first, for your own heart to be kept in perfect peace, forgiving as you have been forgiven; second, that God would break off the power of these harassments in His own way, whether by restraining grace, converting grace, or the simple thwarting of ill intent; and third, that your enemies might discover the misery of their own path and, before it is too late, find the ransom which God Himself has found. That is the prayer which touches the heart of the great Deliverer.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do. 
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