Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

2 Chronicles chapter 18, verse 13.

But Makiah said, as the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.

This is such a great statement from Makaya.

This prophet who's been summoned by the king.

And the king is basically saying,

Makaya, tell me what I want to hear, say something favorable to me.

So you see this pressure on Makaya.

And it was a real pressure.

Like there was harm that could come to him.

If the king decided that he wanted to hurt

Maciah for what he said, but Maciah 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.

What a model for you and me today.

And 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.

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,

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