Habakkuk's Prayer

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet...

“LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:1-2

The prophet Habakkuk could not understand why God allowed such evil to thrive among the people of Judah. He pleaded with God to act, but when God revealed His plan for His people, it was not at all what Habakkuk had in mind. God would use the cruel and evil Babylonians to take Judah captive, in order to turn their hearts back to Him. Habakkuk wanted to know this: How could a Righteous God use evil to cure evil?

Our God cannot, and will not, be put in a box. We ask for revival, and we have our own ideas as to how God might answer that prayer--nothing too drastic--a mild chastening should do. But our God knows exactly what it will take to bring us to our knees, to turn our hearts back to Him. He has every resource available to Him--even the most evil people on earth--and He will use them if that is what it takes.

So how do we pray for our nation--our world, knowing that the answer will most likely be painful? Pray that God will do something amazing. And then pray like Habakkuk: “LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”