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

Jeremiah, chapter 20, verse 18.

Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow and spend my days in shame?

I really rustled with which verse from Jeremiah 20 to read and pray according to,

there's so much good in here. There's so much in this chapter that leads us to pray when you

look at verses 1 and 2, you see Jeremiah beaten for proclaiming the word of God and you

think about our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world that we need to pray for.

And you get to verse 9 and Jeremiah is tempted to stay silent with God's word in part because

of the cost of proclaiming it. And he said, I can't stay silent. There is in my heart like a burning

fire shut up in my bones, a passion, a desire, a compassion to proclaim God's word. I'm weary

with holding it in and I can't do it. May it be so in our lives. May we proclaim God's word

no matter what it costs us. But the reason I'm drawn to read and pray according to verse 18 is

because here is Jeremiah who is a prophet of God who has been anointed by God, set apart by God

for his purpose. And at the end of this chapter, he is despairing of life itself. He says,

why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow and spend my days in shame? And this is a

low point and we see this at different points in heroes in the Old Testament. I think about Elijah

after calling down fire from heaven and rain from the sky. He's threatened by Jezebel and he runs

away and sits down and says, God, I don't want to live anymore. Now, just I don't want to keep

doing ministry like I don't want to live. And this is where Jeremiah is, why did I come out from

the womb to see toil and sorrow and spend my days in shame? And I want to pray according to this

verse because this verse is making clear that not one person is beyond getting to this point

that some people even listening right now may be near this point at this point or familiar with

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