Revelation 6:9-10
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
There it is, an imprecatory prayer, and not in Psalms.
Imprecatory prayer is valid, it is not trivial; but, if you plead with the Lord to uphold your cause and rain down wrath on those who hate and persecute you it should be done with great care that you really are suffering for righteousness sake, for His name’s sake.
That said, the Lord understands our weakness. When we talk to Him, for that’s what prayer is, we shouldn’t just pretend all is well because being confused, hurt and confounded is somehow not the right attitude in prayer (or whatever). Does a smiling prayer when a heart is breaking honor God? Does forced cheer when in reality anger boils within? A Father hears our laughter and our tears, our thanksgiving and our crying out, the hopes and our passions, everything. So maybe we should expect the odd crying out “do something about those guys!” and not be hung up about it.
Aside: I oftentimes think people have become terribly squeamish about God’s wrath, as if it just shouldn’t be in the Bible.
I agree. I view them as a call to God asking him to JUSTLY punish wicked behavior. But as in all things, we also ask God to execute HIS WILL, not ours.
That is what “In Jesus’ Name” implies - that we are praying to advance the cause of Jesus Christ, praying in his place with a power of attorney, so to speak. And God gets to decide if He will accept that power of attorney.
I have no problem with asking God to bring down the wicked who are trying to destroy His people - assuming, of course, that they don’t repent first. And without repentance, all of us stand justly condemned.
And yes, I think it is stupid to lie to God in our prayers. Far better to be honest, and then ask Him to change our attitude as needed. But God DOES understand suffering, and the desire to see justice done!