But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.”
– 1 Kings 22:14
That’s a really good verse. So this messenger comes to Micaiah the prophet on behalf of Ahab, and says in the verse right before this, “Hey, these other prophets are speaking favorably to the king. So we want you to speak favorably to him also”. And Maiah responds and says, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me that I will speak”. In other words, if it’s favorable, that’s what I’ll say. If it’s not favorable, that’s still what I’ll say. My job is to tell you what the Lord says regardless of what you want to hear or want me to say to the king.
1 Kings 22:14 explains the responsibility of teaching God’s truth.
And as I think about that, well my mind goes in many different directions, certainly to those who have the responsibility of preaching God’s Word in the church.
I will never forget first day in preaching class in seminary when my mentor in ministry, Jim Shaddix said, “If you’re going to stand up and say ‘Thus says the Lord’, you better know what the Lord says”. And the responsibility that I or others have when we are teaching in the church to make sure we are teaching what God has said, not what people want to hear.
So I encourage us to pray based on 1 Kings 22:14 for those who teach God’s Word. And to be discerning, to make sure in the church you are hearing what God has said and you can see it in his Word. And not just listening to what someone thinks or maybe even what you would like to hear. Then, the second direction I want to encourage us relates to every single one of our lives, whether or not we’re a teacher of the Word. “As the Lord lives what the Lord says to me that I will speak”.
Whatever God says to you is not intended to stop with you. His Word is intended to spread through you. So even now or whenever you spend time, even just a couple moments like this, hearing God’s Word, think through, yes, “How does this affect my life? God, what are you calling me to do in response to this word? Believe in response to this word”. And think, “Who can I encourage with this word? How can I pass this word on to others?”
1 Kings 22:14 reminds us that God’s word is meant to be shared.
God’s Word that you hear on a daily basis is not intended to stop with you. It’s intended to spread through you. So always think about when you’re studying, meditating on reading God’s Word, not just “How does this affect my life?”, But “How can I share this with others and their lives to encourage them?”… to build them up, to challenge them as we’re challenged by the Word, to encourage them as we’re encouraged by the Word.
And so we pray. God, help us all to do what Miciah did here in 1 Kings 22. Help us as you live, oh Lord, whatever you say to us, help us to speak it. God, we pray that over pastors, over preachers, teachers of your Word in your church. We pray that you would help them to faithfully speak your Word, not their thoughts and not what people might want to hear.
And God, we pray that you would help us to be discerning. To make sure that we hearing your Word taught and not the thoughts or opinions of a person. Or what even we might want to hear. God, we pray that you would help us to faithfully pass your Word onto others, to speak your Word, to encourage others even with this Word at some point today. And God, ultimately, to speak your Word that brings life to others around us today, to speak the gospel.
Prayer for the Situ Jiarong People
And God, we pray for the spread of your Word. And for the spread of the gospel all over the world through us. We pray specifically today for the Situ Jiarong people of China. For 200,000 of this Buddhist people group who doesn’t know your Word, doesn’t know your love for them in Jesus, in the gospel. God, we pray that you would raise up laborers to go into the harvest and share the gospel with the Situ Jiarong people of China and every other people group in the world. God, help us. What you have said to us to speak it to people around us today. And until all the peoples of the world hear your Word. In Jesus’ name, we pray according to 1 Kings 22:14. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
