A Time To Stop Praying

The people of Israel are facing the sea, and the Egyptians are coming in fury to take them hostage again. They are filled with fear and trembling, and what more appropriate time could their be to cry out to God for his power to rescue them? Nevertheless, God does not want them to be crying to him. He tells Moses to knock it off, and to tell the people to move on. This is no time for prayer God is saying. This is a time to stop praying and move. Take action, and move forward. There are times when prayer is not a priority. The priority has to be action, for it is a matter of life or death. If the people delay their movement to get across the sea by setting time aside for prayer meetings, they will be slaughtered or captured. Their prayers can only be answered by their physical movement in getting their bodies across that sea. It is a paradox for sure, for prayer at this time will lead to their killing their chance to escape from the Egyptians. Prayer will be deadly if it keeps them from moving forward. The paradox is that if they stop to pray they will perish. Their only hope to get their prayer answered is to stop praying and get moving. God is telling them that this is no time for prayer. Prayer at this time is the most dangerous thing you can do.

Of course, we can see how people can keep praying as they move across the sea, but what we are looking at is people bowing to the ground on their knees in fervent prayer for God's help. They are stopping their forward movement to plead for God's deliverance, and God is saying that this is not the time to stop and pray. If you are going to pray, do it on the run, for right now it is movement that counts most. Cease to pray, and don't delay, if you want to live another day. God is saying to Moses something like this: “There is something you need to do right now that is more important than prayer, and that is to get these people moving through that parted water. I have already heard your prayer for my help, but if you keep on asking for it instead of moving forward you will be hindering your own prayers. If you keep on knocking after I have opened the door, you are just irritating me. So stop knocking and get moving.”

Rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer comments on this verse, “But even in their passionate, genuine moment of need, God doesn't want their prayers. Instead, God says: Don't pray now. This is no time for praise or thanks or petition. This is no time even for self-reflection. There is something much more appropriate and effective at this hour of need. Says God: "Tell the Israelites to go forward" (14:15).

Rashi, the classical Torah commentator, explains: "God said to Moses: 'Now is not the time to prolong prayer -- Israel is in distress!'" Prayer has great value. Spontaneous or set, brief or extensive, prayer is an outlet for the spirit. But sometimes it's just not the right thing, even from a divine perspective. Sometimes, action takes precedence. In the words of the Torah, sometimes the right thing to do is not to contemplate at all, but rather, "to go forward." And that is just what the Israelites do. Following the divine command, they redirect their energies from thought to movement. From head and heart to feet. Ultimately, this is what enables them to cross the sea, and make the full transition from slavery to freedom.”

We need to apply this message to our own lives. We do not have an Egyptian army on our tail, but we do have the temptation to stop where we are in our journey to God's best for us, and plead with Him for protection from all of the things that keep us fearful and filled with anxiety. It is okay to have a rest stop in our spiritual journey, but when it becomes far more than a vacation to the point where we are basically retiring from the journey, it is a scandal. Many Christians become inactive for years and just stop growing and seeking to know God's will for them. They don't stop praying, but they do not do what is necessary to get their prayers answered. God is saying to them, “Don't keep bugging me in your prayers, but get your rear in gear and move forward. Stop being content to stay where you are, and take action that will stimulate growth.” The fact is, we are often the key to answered prayer. God could not take the people of Israel across that sea until they put one foot ahead of the other and got their bodies moving forward, and it is true for all of our lives. We need to take action that will move us from our present dead zone to a new place where we begin again to show progress in our walk with the Lord.