O”In those days when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.”
-Judges 19:1
This verse begins one of the most horrible stories in all of the Bible as one sin leads to another and another and by the end, evil and violence, unspeakable evil and violence are having their way. But the reason I read Judges 19:1 and I want to lead us to pray according to it is because it all begins with rejection of God as king. In those days, there was no king in Israel and if God is not king on the throne of our hearts, king on the throne in our lives, king on the throne in the church, king on the throne in our families, just keep going where God is not honored and revered and worshiped as king, then unspeakable sin and evil will follow.
The greatest need in every one of our hearts is to worship God as king.
Judges 19:1 Reminds Us of Our Greatest Need
The greatest need in every one of our hearts is to worship God as king. The greatest need in every one of our families is to worship God as king. And the greatest need in our churches is to worship God as king. The greatest need in every single person’s live around us, our greatest need in the world is to see and behold and revere and worship and follow God as king. So we pray. God, today, we confess you are the king of kings.
You’re the Lord of lords. Jesus, you rule and reign over all and we worship you as king. We pray together today be the king of our hearts. Be enthroned in every way over our lives. We pray that all day today, tomorrow, you would deliver us from sin and evil and temptation, that we would live in submission to you as king and every thought we have and every desire we have and every word we say and everything we do, every decision we make, God, may we do it all with reverence and honor and submission to and obedience to you as king.
Judges 19:1 Leads Us to Share the Gospel
We pray this in our lives. We pray be the king of our homes. Be the king of our families. Be the king of your church. Jesus, exalt yourself as King in our churches, through our churches. God, we pray that you would help us to lead others around us to you as King, to help us today introduce others to Jesus, the king. Right around us, God, we pray for the spread of your kingdom, for your glory as King to be known among all the nations.
We pray today for the Urdu speakers of Saudi Arabia, close to a million of them, no known followers of Jesus, none of them know God, none of them who knows you as King, none of them who knows Jesus as the king who can save them from their sins and give them eternal life. God, we pray that you would cause your name as King to be made known among the Urdu speakers of Saudi Arabia and thousands of other people groups like them where you are not known as King right now.
Praising God for Who He Is
Jesus, we praise you, O God. You are the only wise, righteous, good, just, and rightful king. So reign over us. Reign in our lives, through our lives. Just as you taught us to pray, Lord Jesus, our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Let your kingdom come.
Let your will be done on our lives and our families and our churches. And the world on the earth as it is in heaven. As your word concludes, we pray. Come, Lord Jesus. Come, King Jesus. Oh, Come quickly. We look forward to a new heaven and a new earth one day. Where your reign as king will be consummated and there will be no more sin or sorrow or suffering or death. Oh, Come, King Jesus. Come quickly, we pray. In your name, we pray according to Judges 19:1. 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.
