Meddling

"Dear God, please meddle in our affairs."

Maybe it would have a good outcome, but doesn't it sound a little negative, asking God to do that? Yet I kept hearing my Russian friends voice a similar prayer.

You see, I had been acquainted with the verb when it was used in the context of "Don't meddle in other people's affairs."

It also sounds like the verb for "mix" or "bother." I imagined God getting in there with a big spoon and stirring things up.

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Of course I knew there had to be another translation, and sure enough, the alternatives "intervene" or "intercede" would make much more sense in this context!

Here's an example from Proverbs with the Russian verb that was confusing me:

Сердце знает горе души своей, и в радость его не вмешается чужой.

In the KJV it says this:

"The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy." -Proverbs 14:10

BUT the NIV is a bit different:

"Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy."

You can see how there could be variation.

From Strong's Concordance:

`arab aw-rab'

a primitive root; to braid, i.e. intermix;
technically, to traffic (as if by barter); also
or give to be security (as a kind of
exchange):--engage, (inter-)meddle
(with), mingle (self), mortgage, occupy,
give pledges, be(-come, put in) surety,
undertake.

 Of course we wouldn't want to ask God to "meddle" in our affairs, or in other people's! But thinking of Him engaging in our struggles as an active participant, sharing pain and joy with us, interceding on our behalf...now that is an encouraging concept.