Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down;
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Psalm 17:13-15

Some people love confrontation. They love the thought of challenging people and situations, and of course they love the end results: a resolution.

Others, however, dislike confrontation because it’s messy and painful and “in your face.” They’d much rather a situation go unresolved than to deal with the immediate pain and messiness.

But it’s interesting in these verses because David is asking God to confront his enemies. Why? If David had confronted them, he wouldn’t make it out alive. His enemies were out for blood.

Sometimes that’s the only way we have of confronting people: through God. I doubt it’s God’s preferred method of confrontation (because God is the God of reconciliation among other characteristics), but when situations become such that face-to-face or phone-to-phone confrontations are impossible, going through God is an option. If confrontation would endanger you, it’s the only option.

In our cloistered and private world we find ourselves in, it would be far too easy to pray (for God to confront) and not confront, but I believe God would like us, as far as it is possible, to live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:8).