Psalm 79:11: Pray for the persecuted.
How does Psalm 79:11 encourage us to pray for the persecuted church?

The Text Itself

“May the groaning of the prisoners come before You; by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.” (Psalm 79:11)


What the Verse Reveals about God’s Heart

• He hears: The psalm assumes that the anguished cries of His people reach His throne (cf. Exodus 3:7).

• He intervenes: “The strength of Your arm” pictures decisive, rescuing power (Isaiah 51:9).

• He values life: Even those “condemned to death” are precious to Him, undercutting any notion that persecution goes unnoticed.


How Psalm 79:11 Shapes Our Intercession

1. Pray that their cries be heard

• Ask the Lord to let every plea, every whispered prayer, every groan from prison cells “come before” Him without obstruction (Acts 16:25; Revelation 8:3–4).

2. Pray for divine preservation

• Petition God to “preserve” believers facing death sentences, torture, or exile (Daniel 3:17).

• Trust Him to extend or sustain life according to His purposes (2 Corinthians 1:10).

3. Pray with confidence in God’s arm

• Recall past deliverances—whether Israel from Egypt (Exodus 15:6) or Peter from jail (Acts 12:5–11)—as proofs of the same arm still at work.

4. Pray for justice in God’s timing

Psalm 79 later asks God to “repay” persecutors (v. 12). Balance pleas for protection with biblical hope that God will right every wrong (2 Thessalonians 1:6–7).


Practical Ways to Apply the Verse

• Keep a list of persecuted believers and read Psalm 79:11 aloud over each name.

• Set an alarm at a fixed hour—when many believers are arrested or interrogated overnight—to remind you to pray their groans be heard.

• Pair fasting with intercession, joining your own physical “groaning” to theirs (Romans 8:26).

• Share answered prayers: when a prisoner is released, celebrate how God’s arm preserved them.


Assurance That Our Prayers Matter

Hebrews 13:3 commands, “Remember those in chains as if you were bound with them.” Psalm 79:11 supplies the language to obey that command.

1 John 5:14–15 promises confidence when we ask “according to His will.” Protecting His persecuted children is undeniably His will, so we may pray boldly.

What is the meaning of Psalm 79:11?
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