When the Strep Test Must Be Wrong

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 2 Chronicles 18:7

In medicine, it’s not uncommon to encounter a patient who will only accept information that confirms what they already believe to be true. For instance, a patient may request a strep test for a sore throat. They believe they have strep throat and they want the test to be positive. So, when the test comes back negative, they just won’t believe it. The test must be wrong. Now, laboratory tests are occasionally wrong, but statistically speaking, it’s far more likely that the patient is wrong. I can explain all that, but science and reason won’t be helpful here because this isn’t about science, but rather, it’s about what the patient wants. If you don’t tell me what I want to be true, I won’t believe you.

 It sounds absurd, but it happens, and as absurd as I think it may be, it’s similar to how I often approach God. Often, when I pray, I go to God, asking him to change the world to fit my preferences. I don’t ask him to bring about his will, but rather, I ask him to bring about my will. I don’t ask God what my plans should look like. I simply tell him my plans and ask that he bless them.

This is what happened in today’s passage. In the story, King Jehoshaphat of Judah – a good king who followed God – formed and unlikely alliance with King Ahab of Israel – who followed only himself. As the two planned to go to war, Jehoshaphat insisted that they seek God’s will first. Ahab likely rolled his eyes, but he had planned for this. In his employ, he had 400 prophets who told him exactly what he wanted to hear – God says you will be successful. When Jehoshaphat was suspicious and wanted a second opinion, someone suggested the prophet Micaiah who was known for telling the truth, no matter how painful. Ahab objected because, in his experience, Micaiah never prophesied anything good about him. Ahab already had 400 prophets confirming what he wanted to believe. He had no desire to hear God’s actual will.

This makes no sense of course. Wouldn’t Ahab want to know the truth? He didn’t though. He only wanted confirmation of his own plans. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that most of us do this when we pray, going to God for confirmation of our will instead of seeking his will. This, of course, is as absurd as the patient who will only accept a positive strep test, but still, we do it. If we desire to pray as Jesus instructed though (Matthew 6:9-13), then we’ll daily practice praying for God’s will, not ours. This is the hardest prayer, but it’s always the right one.