How can Psalm 10:13 encourage us to pray for the unrepentant?

The Setting of Psalm 10

• Psalm 10 laments unchecked evil and apparent divine delay

• The psalmist never doubts God’s sovereignty; he calls on Him to act (vv. 12, 16–18)

• Verse 13 captures the inner boast of the wicked while exposing its emptiness

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Key Truths Revealed in Psalm 10:13

• “Why has the wicked man renounced God?”—the unrepentant openly reject the Lord’s authority, confirming their need of divine rescue

• “He says to himself, ‘You will never call me to account.’”—their confidence rests on a lie; God’s judgment is certain (Hebrews 9:27)

• God records and remembers every deed (Malachi 3:16; Revelation 20:12); the verse exposes deception and highlights God’s coming reckoning

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How These Truths Fuel Our Prayers for the Unrepentant

• Compassion springs from seeing people trapped in self-deception

• Assurance: God hears and will act—our prayer aligns with His revealed justice (Psalm 10:17–18)

• Urgency: eternal accountability is real, so intercession cannot wait (2 Corinthians 5:10–11)

• Hope: the same God who judges also “desires all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:3–4)

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Practical Steps in Intercession

1. Acknowledge God’s holiness and the certainty of judgment demonstrated in Psalm 10:13

2. Plead for conviction of sin—that the unrepentant would see the lie of “no accountability” (John 16:8)

3. Ask that God’s kindness lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4)

4. Pray Scripture over them: replace the lie with truth (e.g., Hebrews 4:13; Acts 17:31)

5. Persist, trusting God’s timing as the psalmist does (Psalm 10:16)

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Biblical Promises to Anchor Our Hope

• Ezekiel 33:11—God takes “no pleasure in the death of the wicked”

• 2 Peter 3:9—He is “patient… not wanting anyone to perish”

• Luke 19:10—Christ “came to seek and to save what was lost”

• Isaiah 55:11—His word “will not return void,” assuring fruitful intercession