Break Their Teeth Out!

Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

Psalm 3:7

Have you ever been so angry with someone that you felt like praying that or something similar? David did. In Psalm 3:7, he prayed that prayer.

Inappropriate? Yes. But, he told God truthfully how he felt. God listened and loved his honesty and openness with Him.

In my childhood, a neighbor girl bullied me by beating me up on my way home from school everyday. My Daddy told me, in addition to praying, what the Bible said to do for my enemies. If your enemy is hungry give him food to eat: if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you (Proverbs 25:21-22). His intention was for me to be kind, even to my enemies. Well, my 10 year-old mind latched on to that verse! I doubled down on the being kind and praying. But, I was praying those coals of fire would burn her hair off!!!! Was my prayer inappropriate? You betcha’! But, God knew what I needed. The bullying stopped, and I continued to be kind.

We can tell God how we honestly feel even when it is inappropriate. God knows how we feel and what we need. JUST tell Him and no one else. He will bring His perfect will and wisdom into our situations.

Like David, our fearless openess with God brings us closer to His own heart.

By the way, as an adult, that bullying girl came to me and apologized saying she had always regretted what she did because I had always been kind to her. She still had her hair! God, in His perfect wisdom, was kind to her and to me.

Lord, thank You that even our most raw emotions can be taken to You.

Claudia Jackson