A Warriors Plea Series

Category: Prayer for Battles, War, Intercession

A Warriors Plea

The Bible Calls us to Pray for Our Service Men and Women

1 Samuel 12:23, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord for failing to pray for you.”

Who was Samuel:

Samuel was born as the result of Hannah seeking God for a child. When the child whom Hannah ask for was born, the Bible says, “She named him Samuel, because I asked the Lord for him,” (1 Samuel 1:20) According to the Word of God, Samuel was a priest and he remained steadfast in his love for the Lord. (Who’s Who in the Bible, page 581) The Bible says, “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord… (1 Samuel 3:19-20) “Samuel was a faithful judge, who lived through the theocratic ideal, he shape Israel’s political life, unified the tribes, and victoriously fought the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:13b-17; Who’s Who in the Bible, Page)

The Book of Ephesians tells us, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesian 2:10 ) Our exhortation is, what the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write, “I urge, then first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…” (1 Timothy 2:1) Ephesians 6:18 tells us that Christians are to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers…” All Christians who come to understand and respond to their call to pray for others have the great opportunity to go before the “Throne of Grace” (Hebrews 4:16) and intercede for their fellowman. They have on many occasions seen the truth of what James wrote, “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)

I would propose to you that when those whose lives are in danger ask for prayer, it would be a sin to fail to pray for them. Born again Christians can take their rightful place among such giants of intercession (The Expositors Bible Commentary) as Moses, (Exodus 32;30-32) Daniel, (Daniel 9:4-20) the apostle Paul (Romans 1:9-10) and Jesus. (Romans 8:34)

Just what are the benefits in praying for those in our armed forces?

In the Word of God, we see our encouragement to pray for our armed forces as they go into battle. The Bible says, “The Amalekites came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So, Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose for us men, and go out and fight with the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ So, Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, the Amalekites prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So, his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed the Amalekites with the sword.” (Exodus 17:8-13)

Moses was Israel’s intercessory prayer warrior and his faithfulness to pray enabled Israel to be victorious over the Amalekites. Moses’ trust was not in the staff but in God’s enabling power. God in His Sovereignty calls people to their specific task, in this case Joshua and his soldiers to do physical battle. Moses, Aaron and Hur did the spiritual battle which was prayer. (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 61). Logos Research Systems, Inc.; Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). Exodus (Vol. 2, pp. 71–72). Funk & Wagnalls Company.; (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 120). Hendrickson.)

When our armed forces are in harm's way, we can pray for those who are to going into battle – interceding with the God of all mankind, who does all things well.

Christians must resist that temptation of omission in prayer because they become weary of the nation’s continued descent into sin. The prophet Samuel saw the sins of the people, yet committed to pray for them because he did not want to sin against the Lord. The most influential work done for the Hebrews was the teaching of God’s Word and the prayers that came from great intercessors such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and King David. These powerful intercessors did not just leave the people of God to live their own course to sow as they please and reap as they had sown. They did not withdraw from their responsibility, rather interceded with all their hearts before a merciful God who could bring a people to repentance, protect them from their enemies and empower them to accomplish His perfect will.