“Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athalia, the granddaughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly.”
– 2 Chronicles 22:2–3
Did you follow this picture in 2 Chronicles 22:2–3? Ahaziah becomes king at 22 years old, and he is a horrible king for one year. And why was he such a bad king? Because he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, and he listened to his mother whose council was wicked.
God, we pray that you would help them to walk in your ways to turn aside from the ways of this world and to walk in accordance with your Word.
And as I read 2 Chronicles 22:2–3, I just think about the responsibility that I have as a parent to pass on good to my kids, to teach them good and not evil. The responsibility that every parent has to do this in our children’s lives and the effect of how we parent on our children’s lives obviously knowing not one of us can determine that our children will walk in the ways of God. But we can decide to do everything we can to pass on the Word of God and the ways of God and the goodness of God to them. And not just for parents, but for all of us in the Church to think about how we are affecting the next generation after us.
2 Chronicles 22:2–3 Leads Us to Pray for the Next Generation
So, can we just pray whether we’re a part of the next generation that’s coming up, or we are passing faith onto that next generation, God, we pray that you would help us to do good together. God, we pray for children, teenagers, some of whom are listening to this podcast right now. And even young adults like 22-year-old Ahaziah here. God, we pray that you would help them to walk in your ways, in good ways. To turn aside from the ways of this world. And to walk in accordance with your Word, and to experience life in you.
God, we pray for their protection. We pray for your provision in their lives. We pray that they would keep their eyes fixed on you. And God, we pray for all of us who have a role to play. Whether a role in parenting or just in your Church, generally, in passing the gospel on, the goodness of your Word on to the next generation, help us to faithfully do that.
2 Chronicles 22:2–3 Leads Us to Pray to be Good Role Models
Help us to model what it looks like to walk in faithfulness to you. And help us to live to see your Word spread to the next generation. God help us to prioritize sharing your Word and your ways over everything else in this world. Sp that we can pass it on to those who come after us. This is more important than education and school, or getting a job, or so many other things that do have value in this world. But none of these things compare with the value of knowing you and walking with you.
God, help us to pour our lives out. So the next generation knows you and loves you and worships you and walks with you. We pray that you would keep this picture in 2 Chronicles 22:2–3 from happening in our lives, a parent and a child both walking in wicked ways. God, please keep us from this. Help us as parents, as children, as generations to walk in your ways. 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.
