Biblical Repentance (2 Kings 22:11)

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.
—2 Kings 22:11

So I’m just going to stop right there because I want you to get this picture in your mind. It says that King Josiah hears God’s words spoken, and just hearing the words of God, he tears his clothes as a picture of repentance, sorrow, the deep sorrow over sin, because he knows the people of God have not been following this Word. And so he’s broken over it, literally breaks his clothes, and begins weeping, humbling himself before God because of conviction in his heart brought about by God’s Word that leads to confession of sin. And we read later in verse 19 of this chapter how God says, “…because your heart was penitent.”

2 Kings 22:11 pictures a heart broken over sin.

Because you humbled yourself before me when you heard my Word, you’ve torn your clothes and wept before me. God says, “I have heard you. I’ve heard your cries.” God hears the cries of the humble and the repentant and the broken and the convicted, and those who hear his Word with a soft heart and reply with humble submission and confession and contrition. So God, we pray that you would make our hearts like Josiah’s in this way.

God, we pray that when we hear your Word, whether it’s in a podcast episode like this, whether it’s when we open our Bibles to read it, we gather with your church to study it. Lord, help us to be faithful, to respond in humility and submission and confession and contrition to it. God, we pray that you’d forgive us for the times when your Word exposes things in our lives that are not pleasing to you, and we just kind of move on.

Lord, we pray that you would help us, maybe not to specifically tear our clothes as was the custom in Josiah’s day, but to fall to our knees with broken hearts and deep contrition over sin. God, please keep us from casually reading your Word without conviction and humility and repentance, without change of heart and mind and life that’s driven by your Word. Lord, we pray that your Word would produce this kind of fruit in us when we’re alone with you and when we’re gathered together with your church. God, may it not be a rare thing for us to fall on our knees in confession and contrition over sin with your people.

A Prayer for the Pashtun People

And then, God, we pray, we pray for the spread of your Word to the nations in power, that when they hear it, they would be brought to repentance. God, we know only your Spirit and your Word can bring that about. So we pray. We pray specifically today for the northern Pashtun people of Pakistan and Afghanistan and so many other different countries, particularly across Central Asia. God, we pray for 38 and a half million Northern Pashtun men, women, and children. We pray for the spread of your Word, of your grace, of your mercy to them in ways that would cause them to humble themselves before you, cry out for and receive your salvation.

God, we pray for the spread of your Word and salvation, just like Josiah here was totally torn after hearing your Word. God, we pray that the northern Pashtun people would be convicted of sin and brought to salvation in you, Jesus. Even as we pray that you’d help us to live this out in our lives on a daily basis with your Word. In Jesus’ name we pray all these things according to your Word. Amen.