Friday, November 14, 2008

Prayer and Action Go Hand in Hand

Exodus 17:8-16

Here we see a beautiful picture of James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". Prayer is so important to our physical, mental, and spiritual lives. Prayerlessness forms a huge barrier between us and God. I think we will all agree that there is no substitute for prayer. However, there is usually action to be taken as well.

If we look closely at the story we see that as long as Moses hands were up toward God, Joshua's army was winning. But they still had to fight. Moses' prayer would not have been effective without Joshua's fighting. And Joshua's fighting would not have been effective without Moses' prayer. God called Moses to pray and Joshua's army to do the necessary work.

What we can take from this story and apply to our lives is to never be judgemental of someones calling or service. Prayer is most important, but we can not use it as a substitution for action. I also love the fact that Moses' two friends helped hold his arms up. God could have given Moses' supernatural strength to hold his arms up all day, but He did not. He gave Aaron and Hur the responsibility of lifting their brother up. God has given us that same responsibility.

Today, ask God where He wants you to take action. Maybe you have prayed about something for a long time and know that now is the time for action. Also ask God to show you a brother or a sister that needs someone to help hold them up. If He shows you someone, pray for that person and then do whatever you can to help them.

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