Yesterday, France was brutalized by Islamic terrorists.

This is a time for praying against what God is against, and for what God is for. God is against murder, and he is against the false gods that demand the slaughter of the innocent. He is for the putting down of injustice, and he is for the knowledge of his glory filling the earth, even through the salvation of former worshipers of Allah.

There are many things to pray on a weekend like this. Denny Burke recommends we pray the words of Psalm 10, and that’s a good suggestion:

Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.

The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

Here are some helpful reflections, suggestions, and articles from around the web on this and related tragedies.

• John Piper helps us with his article, “France: A Fabric Torn.”
• Scotty Smith offers “A Prayer of Lament in Response to the Terror Attack in Paris.”
• If you’re up for some sermon listening, this might be a weekend for reviewing Ryan’s sermon on several imprecatory psalms, “Praying against what is against God.”
• Joe Carter offers his always timely, “9 Things You Should Know About Islamic State.”
• A year ago, Joe Carter published “Three Ways to Pray for our Enemies.”
• Back in February, Tom Schreiner offered “A Biblical Meditation on the Execution of 21 Christians.”
• Also in February, Caleb Greggsen answers the question, “Does Islam Inevitably Lead to Violence?“
• Finally, from the Atlantic March, here’s a careful and important piece on the origin and aims and ISIS: “What ISIS Really Wants.”