“Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on His throne as king for the Lord your God. Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”
– 2 Chronicles 9:8
2 Chronicles 9:8 is spoken by Queen Sheba to Solomon. Keep in mind, Queen Sheba, a pagan queen, is the one who offers this blessing to God. “Blessed be the Lord your God.” And in her blessing of God, I want to show you two things and for us to pray according to them. First, what we see all over scripture, what I hope that we see continually as we pray through God’s Word on this podcast is that God blesses His people for His own glory among the nations. Think about it, God has blessed Solomon with wisdom. God is blessing His people through Solomon’s leadership. Why? So that a pagan queen like Queen Sheba would come and declare the glory of God.
God blesses his people for his own glory among all the nations so that more and more people would see his glory and the way he loves his people.
2 Chronicles 9:8 Reminds Us of God’s Blessings
God blesses his people for his own glory among all the nations so that more and more people would see his glory and the way he loves his people. This is from the very beginning, Genesis 12, “I will bless you. And through you, my blessing will be made known among all the people’s of the earth.” So let’s not be a people who are self-centered when it comes to the blessing of God. God’s blessing is not intended to center on us, God’s blessing is intended to spread through us. Our lives are intended to be a conduit of his blessing for his glory among more and more people, specifically of among every single nation. That’s the first thing.
And then second, do you hear what Queen Sheba says? At the very end, he says, “He has made you king over them, Solomon, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” God appoints leaders for the execution of justice and rights. And so, 2 Chronicles 9:8 reminds all of us who are in any leadership positions in any way, in our homes, in a relationship, in work, in the church and the world that God has given us authority. All authority comes from him, and he’s given it to us for the good of the people we lead, for the good of others we influence, that we might lead and live justly and righteously for others’ good. And so, we need to pray this in our lives to the extent we have leadership and to pray this for leaders around us.
2 Chronicles 9:8 Leads Us to Pray for the Unreached
So, God, we pray based on your word in 2 Chronicles 9:8. First and foremost, that we would recognize the purpose of your blessing. Help us to realize that your blessing does not stop with us. Your blessing spreads through us. God, we pray that you would make our lives as the overflow of your grace and blessing in our lives. Make our lives a blessing to others today. Help us to be an encouragement to others. Help us to be salt in light the people may see our good deeds. And help us to give glory to you in heaven, just like Queen Sheba did here in 2 Chronicles 9:8.
God, we pray that your blessing toward us would resound to your glory among all the nations. We pray for the Sanusi Bedouin people of Libya, 639,000 Muslims. 0.0% followers of Jesus. None of them know your blessing through Jesus. God, we pray that you would forgive us as your people for allowing it to be that thousands of people groups like the Sanusi Bedouin don’t know your blessing.
God, this is not what you have saved us for. You have saved us for the spread of your glory among all the nations. We pray for the spread of your blessing among all the nations. And we pray that you use our lives and our families and our churches toward that end. We pray for the accomplishment of your purpose in your blessing in us, in your blessing upon us.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for Justice in Our Lives
And at the same time, God, we pray in light of 2 Chronicles 9:8. We pray that you would help us in all of our lives to do justice, to live righteously in our lives. Please help us specifically in any leadership roles we have, in our homes or marriages, with kids. God, in work, in our communities, in your church, in the world in any way. God, help us to do justice, to live and lead with justice and righteousness in ways that are good for anyone who comes in contact with us, for anyone we influence, for anyone, we lead. We pray that they would know your blessing because of the way we live and lead. We pray all of this in Jesus name according to 2 Chronicles 9:8. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
