“But Micaiah said, ‘As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.'”
– 2 Chronicles 18:13
2 Chronicles 18:13 is such a great statement from Micaiah, this prophet who’s been summoned by the king. And the king is basically saying, “Micaiah, tell me what I want to hear. Say something favorable to me.” So you see this pressure on Micaiah. And it was a real pressure. There was harm that could come to him if the king decided that he wanted to hurt Micaiah for what he said. But Micaiah looks back at him and says, “King, as the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” In other words, my words are bound to God’s Word. And no matter what you think, or no matter how favorable or unfavorable it is, I’m going to speak what God says, no matter what that means for you, and no matter what that may cost me.
God, we pray for faithfulness in every follower of Jesus today, that you would help us all to look for opportunities to share the gospel.
What a model for you and me today. Certainly when I read this, I think about pastors and teachers of God’s Word and the responsibility that we have, all of us who teach or proclaim God’s Word, to make sure that what we are saying is what God is saying, not what we are saying, that we don’t claim to speak for God and then share our own thoughts or opinions or ideas or even convictions, but that we only speak what God has said.
2 Chronicles 18:13 Reminds Us to Share the Gospel
So there’s certainly a challenge here, but not just for pastors and teachers of God’s Word. Because the reality is all of us today will have opportunities with coworkers, with neighbors, with friends, maybe family members to speak God’s Word, to share the good news of his love, and especially all the more so is the Christmas season is upon us to look for opportunities.
We have every day to speak about the truth of who Jesus is and why Jesus has come. So as the Lord lives, we have his Word in us. So let’s speak it no matter what that may cost us. Maybe it’s awkwardness in a conversation. Maybe it’s risk to our reputation. Or maybe it’s real cost, maybe we could lose a job or lose a friendship or in some parts of the world where people listen to this podcast, maybe it’s lose a life.
But as the Lord lives, Micaiah said, “What my God says, that I will speak.” So we pray, God, help us to faithfully speak your Word. Yes God, for every pastor and teacher of your Word, help us to faithfully represent your voice, your truth, to proclaim your Word as you have said it, and not to twist it or not to misrepresented in any way. God, we pray for faithfulness in pastors and teachers of your Word.
2 Chronicles 18:13 Leads Us to Pray for Faithfulness
And God, we pray for faithfulness in every follower of Jesus today. We pray that you would help us all to look for opportunities to speak what you have said to others. God, we pray this for the sake of people around us. We pray this for the sake of those who need to hear your Word. And for the sake of people far from us who need to hear your Word. This includes for the Dui-Menia, Bedouin people of Algeria. None of them have heard the good news of your Word. They don’t know about Jesus saving them from their sins. And they’ve never heard the good news in your Word. Nor have they heard about your grace in Jesus.
God, we pray that someone would proclaim to the Dui-Menia Bedouin of Algeria, that they would hear and believe the gospel and receive your Word and proclaim it to others. God help us, we pray, as your church, as the people you have entrusted with your Word, to live daily, saying, “As the Lord lives, what our God has said, that we will speak, no matter what that means for us.” In Jesus’ name we pray. 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.
