PRAYER AND VICTORY


A. "AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN MOSES HELD UP HIS HAND, THAT ISRAEL PREVAILED; AND WHEN HE LET DOWN HIS HAND, AMALEK PREVAILED" EXODUS 17:11
  1. Here is an unforgettable picture of the role prayer plays in the battles of life:
    1. Moses, the man of God, with uplifted hand upon the hilltop, while the armies of Israel and Amalek are locked in combat in the plain below
    2. The battle sways to and fro according as the hands of prayer are firmly upheld or sink in weariness
  2. A picture to teach Israel and the people of God in all ages:
    1. That prayer is a mighty power in the day of battle
    2. It is the essential condition without which victory cannot be won, or if won will prove unfruitful
B. LET US TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GREAT IMPLICATIONS OF OUR TEXT
  1. The occasion involved:
    1. This was the fist battle that Israel fought and the result of which would have a decisive effect upon their morale
    2. They were not a seasoned army but a mixed multitude of recently emancipated slaves; that is why the Lord led them around about way so that they would not face a fight with the Philistines first
  2. Here, then, was the critical moment when they needed above all else to be strengthened and guided on their career of conquest:
    1. They needed to know that prayer is as indispensable as life itself
    2. They needed to know or recall that both the battle and the victory are the Lord's - I Chron. 29:11
    3. That was one of the reasons God trained His people in the school of experience - even during their travels in the wilderness Hos. 2:14-17
  3. Here are a number of special lessons of the need for power of prayer:
    1. Consider in the first place that the sight of Moses praying on the hilltop infused confidence into the army of Israel
    2. Observe in the second place that god was teaching Israel to pray while they fought - to combine human effort with dependence upon God
    3. Observe in the third place that god granted victory to Israel in answer to prayer
C. HERE, CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, IS A MUST LESSON FOR GOD'S PEOPLE, LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS
  1. Let the leaders of God's people remain long with uplifted hands in fervent prayer:
    1. It was Jesus, our Elder Brother, who recognized the power of prayer to fit Him for the battle against sin, sickness and continued opposition - Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12
    2. It was Jesus, the man of prayer who admonishes us, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" - Matt. 26:41
  2. There is among us one disconcerted note that troubles me at times:
    1. So many among us are or seem at ease in Zion, at a time when many unpredictable troubles engulf the world - Luke 26:25-26
    2. The midweek prayer meeting is so sparsely attended
    3. How can this deplorable lukewarmness be changed; what will bring the Spirit of prayer among God's remnant people?
  3. A closing look at our opening text:
    1. So long as Moses hands were stretched heavenward in prayer - Israel won in the battle
    2. But when those hands fell down, Amalek won
    3. This ought to arouse us out of our lethargy and bring us on our knees in agonizing prayer
    4. We need power to overcome evil habits
    5. We need power to do the work God has given to us to do
    6. We need power to become Christ life
    7. We need power to fight a good fight, to finish our course
    8. Prayer is the key to that power; shall we in the light of our text make use of that power.


Design © John Bryant 2011