Psalm 80 "Angry with Their Prayers?"

Psalm for Today = 80:4-8

“O LORD God of hosts, 
          how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?

You have fed them with the bread of tears 
     and given them tears to drink in full measure. 
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, 
                                                         and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts; 
           let your face shine, that we may be saved!”

Comment: 

Photo by Kat J on Unsplash

The psalmist honestly voices his lament to God. 

In verse 4 he asks a question I wonder whether we should consider—“how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?”

To the psalmist, it seemed that God was angry at their prayers. Whether or not he was accurate about God's feelings at that moment, his phrase begs an interesting question... "Is there a prayer that angers God?"

If the answer to that question is affirmative, then I have tougher questions to face.

If it is possible to pray in a way that displeases or angers God, I have to wonder if we might be praying the wrong things or praying for the wrong reasons. Now the box of questions opens before me...

• Are our prayers filled with self-righteousness or unfeigned trust in God alone for our salvation?
• Are we placing blame, gaslighting, and making excuses in our prayers, or are we confessing our sins and seeking God's mercy for all involved?
• Are we merely asking God to bless our plans or are we eager to participate in God’s plan?
• Do our prayers for blessing bring a curse on someone else? For us to "win" must someone else "lose"?
• Do we think God will honor our requests for our own comfort while we are oppressing others, or are we interceding in his name for his people (including the ones who don't know him yet)?
• If our kids asked us things the same way we present our requests to God, how would we feel?

In any event, the psalmist gets it right in the chorus, in verses 3, 7, and 19, we should look to God and the relational goodness of his presence for our restoration and salvation! May he turn us back to him, now and always!