He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? But to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.
– Micah 6:8
Micah 6:8 is probably the most well-known verse in the book of Micah. And really in a lot of the prophets in the Old Testament because of its simplicity and clarity regarding what God requires of his people. Now, specifically, this was spoken by God through the prophet Micah to the people of Israel in the Old Testament. In the context of the system of government that God had set up among his people. Particularly with a king through which he would administer justice, at least that was the design.
The initial purpose of the Israelite king was to administer justice for the people.
The problem is God’s people had over and over and over again, settled for injustice in their laws. As well as in the execution of those laws and in ways that lead to oppression of the poor and the weak and all sorts of idolatry and immorality that had crept into God’s people. So God says through Micah, “This is what I require of you as my people that you do justice and you love kindness and you walk humbly with me.”
This Verse Teaches Us About Some of God’s Requirements For His People
Now, obviously, we want to be careful when we read the Old Testament just to make direct application of commands that we see in the Old Testament, particularly if we don’t see those commands in the New Testament. But do we see in Jesus’ commands to his people and the picture of the church in the New Testament a desire from God for us as his people to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with him? Surely, we do. So Micah 6:8 leads us to pray for this in our lives, and really in a sense to pray for this in our country.
Obviously, this verse was not to the United States. It’s uniquely spoken to the covenant people of God in the Old Testament. But doesn’t this verse lead us to pray that we would do justice in whatever country we live in, that we would love kindness in whatever country we live in, and that people would walk humbly with God in whatever country we live in? So God, we pray Micah 6:8 over our lives as your people today. We pray that you would help us to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with you according to your word, God, not according to worldly definitions of justice or kindness.
Micah 6:8: Asking God to Help Us Walk in Humility
God, we pray in light of your requirement for your people to walk humbly with you, that we would humble ourselves under your word and we would live with justice and kindness according to what you say is just and according to what you say is kind. God, we pray that you would help us mark our lives as your people by humility before you. I pray for this in my life. I pray for this for every single person listening to this right now that you would help each of us to walk humbly with you today. God, may our lives be the overflow of walking humbly with you. Oh God, even as I am praying that, I just want to pray for that specifically in each one of us. God, please may it be so.
May humility mark our lives before you and humility before others and walking with you. God, I pray for this more than anything else for the people who are listening right now. Even as I pray for this in my own life in a fresh way, God, help us to walk with you in an Enoch Genesis chapter 5 kind of way. Help us to walk humbly with you. Then flowing from that, God, to do justice, to desire justice, to love kindness, to show mercy in a way that reflects your character. God, we pray for this in our lives. We pray for this in your church. God, we pray for justice and kindness and humility in our country.
The Lord’s Prayer
We pray for all of these things that you required of your people in the Old Testament, that we desire in our lives as your people today and in the world around us. Even as we pray our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May your justice reign, your kindness reign on earth as it is in heaven, we pray. May many people walk humbly with you. God, help us to lead people to walk humbly with you. Help us to share the gospel today, that people might repent of sin, turn and trust in Jesus and enter into relationship with you where they can walk with you. God, we pray Micah 6:8 in all these ways in Jesus’ name. 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.
