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A cry for true prophetic voices to declare the voice of the Lord.

The Lord has highlighted 1 Kings 22 many times over the years.  It is a powerful narrative that shows the desperate need for the true word of the Lord regardless of consequences. Today Australia needs a true faithful strong Godly prophetic voice more than ever!

A Tale of Two Kings, One Godly, One Evil, and a Prophet Without Compromise

King Jehoshaphat (יְהוֹשָׁפָט meaning ‘Jehovah has judged’; son of king Asa and himself king of Judah for 25 years; one of the best, most pious, and prosperous kings of Judah) visits the King of Israel (Ahab אַחְאָב  a wicked king) as Ahab was facing an enemy and needed help.

Although Ahab had 400 ‘prophets’ (1 Kings 22:6), he had no one who spoke the true word of the Lord. Jehoshaphat asks, is there a prophet of the Lord? In other words, the 400 prophets that the King of Israel had gathered were useless as they were simply a bunch of ‘yes men’.

Jehoshaphat wanted a true man of God to speak! How often do people want their ears tickled, their immediate needs met, with no thought for what God wants?

And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?”
— 1 Kings 22:7

Then Ahab says there is one man of God, but he does not like what he says. The King of Israel wanted his ears tickled, but did not want to face up to the consequences of his own sin and the sins of his people.  He was offended by the word of the Lord because it found Ahab wanting.

So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”
— 1 Kings 22:8

Micaiah (מִיכָֽיְהוּ meaning ‘who is like God’; a prophet of Samaria who predicted the defeat and death of King Ahab of Israel) was a true prophet, not afraid to speak the true word of the Lord regardless of what others thought or the consequences. Ahab even attempted to imprison Micaiah, which was going to be a terrible punishment.

The King of Israel hated Micaiah because Micaiah spoke the true word of the Lord.  If the King of Israel had repented and turned to the Lord, all could have been made right. 

After being warned, Ahab ends up dead at the hands of his enemies, with dogs licking up his blood. This happened at the word of the Lord from His prophet and Ahab’s continuing evil.

How Does This Apply to Australia, Especially the Ekklesia (Church)?

We believers (you are all ministers of the Gospel) have a great responsibility in administering the prophetic gifts from the Lord. God’s judgement is at hand. Do not say this is only old testament, consider Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.  God’s grace is also fully available, but judgement is still comes from the Lord at times. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). As a nation, we do not honour the Lord or hold His word holy.

The Ekklesia^** in Australia is facing a plethora of critical issues (trans and gay agendas, ‘Safe Schools’, euthanasia, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking, and many other perversions and sins), and it is time we the Ekklesia need to be speaking the word of the Lord boldly to a nation desperately in need of repentance and salvation.

^**Ekklesia in the New Testament was used to refer to any assembly of people. In his address to the Sanhedrin, Stephen calls the people of Israel “the assembly [Ekklesia] in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). And in Acts 19:39, Ekklesia refers to a convening of citizens to discuss legal matters (i.e. governmental authority). In most NT contexts, the word Ekklesia is used to refer to the people who comprise the New Testament church. I.e. God’s people with governmental authority.

This is the word I felt for Australia, especially the Ekklesia, at this time.  I asked the Lord the same question that Jehoshaphat asked: “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of him?” Sadly, today there are some ‘prophetic’ voices that only tickle people’s ears; we need the authentic word of the Lord.

I felt the Lord say that there will not be a single person to speak, but He wanted His Holy, Apostolic, Prophetic, Bride – His Ekklesia – to speak as one, i.e. in both Psalm 133:1 unity and John 17:22 oneness. I recommend reading Ekklesia Rising by Dean Briggs.

Some time ago, I saw a vision of leaders in every pulpit in the nation speaking the word of the Lord with power and truth.  Every congregation were on their knees crying out for His righteousness and truth. Repentance and change begin at the household of God. This is the start of Australia turning around.

The word being preached was without compromise — it was very offensive to sinners and some saints alike; the word of the Lord was also life and salvation through repentance and belief. Many found life in Jesus Christ.

The people of Australia (mostly) are heart sick of the current Marxist political trajectory. The rise and rise of One Nation is symptomatic of the people’s cry, but political change is not the real answer.

We cannot see any political change as the end answer to the sins of Australia, only the work of the cross, Jesus as our Saviour, is the answer.

In the vision, as the clear word of the Lord was declared in unity across the nation, many were convicted and fell to their knees, crying out to the Lord for help and salvation.

Now is the time for all of us to be the prophet that Jehoshaphat had asked for; we all need to declare the truth of the word.  We the Church are called to manifest the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.  We will not win any popularity contests, but we will be His voice in a dry and thirsty land.

His Ekklesia is awesome and powerful; it is truly apostolic and prophetic.  The Lord is calling all of us to rise up and be His voice of truth in a land that has hundreds of false prophets who speak vanities.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. — Matthew 11:12

Arise and Take Action

Join us as we pray and fast for the Church — the Body of Christ — to awaken to and fulfil her calling and mission. We are praying for the Church (Ekklesia) to:

1. Awaken to her first love for Jesus. (Ephesians 5:14; Revelation 2:4)
2. Awaken to evangelism so that millions will trust in Christ. (John 3:16; Proverbs 11:30)
3. Awaken to her prophetic voice to the nation. (Isaiah 52:1; Matthew 14:4)

Please join us throughout October as we pray, fast and seek God for the Church in our nation.

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Republished with thanks to Ruach HaKodesh Ministries. Image courtesy of Adobe.