Gospel Reading Plan: Mark 5-6
Moses the Warrior?
Read: Exodus 17:8-16
Children dream of being the hero, the knight in shining armour who
saves the day. Fairy tales and even
today’s blockbuster movies are built upon the superhero saving the day. But did you know that Moses was a great
warrior? He sure was, although he never
wielded a sword like David or Joshua. In
Exodus 17 we read of a great battle between the Israelites and the
Amalekites. The battle was so fierce
that Amalek was completely blotted out from under heaven (vs. 14). How did Moses fight this mighty battle? Through prayer! In today’s scripture we read that Moses
commanded Joshua to take some of the Israelites and go and fight the
Amalekites. But why did they gain the
victory? It was because Moses had his hands in the air. It seems so simply but often we try to
complicate things. We try to win the
battle through valiant efforts, yet victory is not gained by some great action
on our part; it is found when we raise our hands in prayer. Prayer is warfare
that is directed against the forces of evil.
Many people get excited about spiritual warfare, they get all pumped up
about defeating the devil and telling evil spirits where to go but when they
don’t see immediate results they give up.
Sustaining prayer is not easy; we grow tired and weary and the
temptation is to give up. Even Moses
grew tired so his companions had him sit down and they held his hands up for
him. This gives us an important insight
into prayer – even the greatest prayer warrior can grow tired. Aaron and Hur were not great prayer warriors
like Moses but they did support him and consequently the battle was won! Is God asking you to play a supportive role
like Aaron or a Hur? Or are you a weary Moses?
There are battles that can be won in your life, in our church and in our
nation. What part will you play in the
war?
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
- From this story, in what ways can you relate to Moses?
- Do your friends help support you in your walk with God or do they drag you down? Spend some time listening to God about your friendships; ask Him to speak to you about them.
- Ask the Lord to show you the part that He wants you to play in the area of battling through prayer for your family, our community and our nation.
