And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan, the secretary, for it had been made a prison.
– Jeremiah 37:15
This is a pretty straightforward verse as Jeremiah proclaims God’s Word. And as a result of obedience to God and faithful proclamation of his Word, Jeremiah is beaten and imprisoned.
Jeremiah 37:15 reminds us of the varying degrees of difficulty we will face as witnesses of the gospel.
It makes me think of Matthew 10. I was reading just recently when Jesus told his disciples when he sent them out to proclaim his Kingdom. “You will be persecuted, betrayed, hated.” And we should not be surprised when challenges come into our lives as a result of sharing the gospel. We need to be aware that that may be one of the biggest temptations for us not to share the gospel… Because things will get harder for us; things will change for us.
But even still… Then I think about the context where I live. Followers of Jesus may pay a price in different ways for sharing the gospel. But not the same kind of price that our brothers and sisters are paying for sharing the gospel in North Korea, Yemen, Somalia… Or many other places around the world where Christians would face the loss of their lives almost certainly in some circumstances if they share the gospel. I want to lead us to pray for them and for their boldness, for Jeremiah-like boldness in them. And for us to pray for one another wherever we live. That we would have Jeremiah-like boldness to share the gospel today… Specifically today and each day in our lives.
Jeremiah 37:15 should lead us to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters.
God, we pray right now for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being beaten and imprisoned today because of their obedience to you and their faithful proclamation of the gospel. God, we pray for our brothers and sisters in North Korea. Uphold them with your righteous right hand. Strengthen them. Grant them everything they need. Oh God, we pray. We pray for them in Yemen. We pray for them in different parts of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, God, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
God, I think about where I was just recently and the persecution of Christians, the burning of churches. God, we pray, please strengthen our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. May they know just like Jeremiah knew that you are with them and for them and help them. Lord, we pray to stay steadfast in their faith.
We pray for our brothers and sisters in prison as if we were in prison with them. We pray for our family that’s being beaten and imprisoned. God, we pray that you would give them the boldness to continue to share the gospel in Acts 4 kind of way. And God, we pray for our own lives, especially those of us who live in free settings where we can share the gospel. God, help us to faithfully share it. No matter what risks that might mean in our own lives, even if it’s just the risk of comfort or awkwardness, God, please help us to faithfully share the gospel to obey you.
Prayer for the Ir People
And God, we know that all these unreached people groups we pray for are unreached for a reason. They’re hard to reach, they’re difficult to reach. They’re dangerous to reach in some circumstances, so God, we pray that you would raise up your church to boldly go to these places, and raise up laborers for the harvest field among the Ir people of Laos. God, we pray for the spread of the gospel to the Ir people of Laos. Through bold brothers and sisters in Christ, we pray that unreached people groups all around the world all according to your Word, to the example of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 37, and ultimately according to the example and command of Jesus who gave his life and love for us. In his 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.
