RAISE YOUR HANDS UP AND PRAY
Text: Exodus 17:8-16 (NIV) " 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against[c] the throne of the Lord,[d] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
We are now in chapter 17 of the Book of Exodus.
This is about the surprise attack of the Amalekites when the Israelites were on their way to Mount Sinai.
They came with the sword to destroy the Israelites but Moses was ready.
He told Joshua to choose some of the men to fight the Amalekites while he stands on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hands.
So, Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered.
Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill overlooking the ongoing battle beneath them.
As long as Moses held the staff with his hands upward to heaven, the battle was in their favor.
But whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning the battle.
The outcome of the battle was dependent upon Moses and the staff of God.
Then, it came to the point when Mose's hands grew tired of holding the staff.
It was then that Aaron and Hur came to the rescue.
They took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it while they helped Moses by holding his hands up.
One was holding one side while another was holding the other side.
It was then that Moses' hands remained steady until sunset.
So, Joshua and the few men he had overcame the Amalekites army with the sword because the Lord was fighting for them.
The Lord had answered the intercessions of Moses, Aaron and Hur.
Then, the Lord said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and to make sure that Joshua hears it.
Because God will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven."
And there, Moses built an altar and called it "The Lord is My Banner"
He said, "Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
Today, we are going to talk about raising your hands up and pray.
Do you know that there is a strong connection between prayer and God's power manifested over the church?
Notice what happened here.
Whenever Moses held his hands up while holding the staff, the Israelites were winning the battle over the Amalekites.
But whenever he lowered his hands, they lost the battle.
Holding up our hands to heaven is a symbol of a praying Christian asking for God's divine intervention.
When we raise our hands in prayer, God hears and will act accordingly.
In the same manner, whenever Christians pray or intercede in behalf of the land, we are winning the spiritual warfare.
It is as if we are helping the leaders (whether government or religious) raise up their hands imploring God's manifestation of authority over the church.
Whenever the Christians stop praying, it is as if we have surrendered our land over to the enemy.
Praying Christians therefore have a significant role to play for our nation's spiritual and economic prosperity.
We must raise our hands up and pray for our land.
Let me tell you a story:
I received an alarming e-mail lately from a friend explaining the death of American democracy if we do not act and pray.
"In 1887, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years ago.
"A democracy is always Temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy which is always followed by a Dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years.
During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
Many skeptics believes that the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of Democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
It means that many US citizens are just dependent on dole outs from the government for a living.
They do not work hard anymore to earn a living.
Pretty soon, the whole economy can collapse because of this set-up.
But it need not happen.
We can hold back the work of darkness in our land through prayer.
We must bring back the nation under God and defeat the enemy.
We must not give up regardless of how long it could take or how exhausted we are.
We must raise God's banner of authority over the church.
Jehovah Nissi means the "Lord is My Banner."
There are several things we can learn from these passages:
1. THE ENEMY IS ALWAYS ON THE ATTACK BUT WE MUST ALWAYS BE READY.
Exodus 17:8-9 (NIV) "8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
The first thing we can learn from these verses is that the enemy is on the attack.
They are on the offensive.
They are the aggressors and would strike at a sudden provocation.
There was no time to send the declaration of war.
There was no time to train an army.
The Amalekites just came in and attacked the Israelites immediately and swiftly from behind.
Now, who are these Amalekites and why did they attack the Israelites so suddenly.
These Amalekites were a nomadic tribes of people coming from the descendants of Edom or Esau.
They settled in that land of Rephidim for many years and became Israel's arch-enemy when they saw them passing by their land.
They knew that the Israelites were not prepared for battle but just traveling in the wilderness searching for a place to rest and drink water.
And so, they took advantage of their being unprepared for battle.
They were like bandits in an ambush in order to destroy their prey.
But Moses was always listening from God.
He was ready for any battle contingency because he knew that God was there to protect them.
And so, he did not panic.
He was not in dismay.
He did not allow his fears to overtake him.
He put his trust in God and instructed Joshua to choose some of the men to fight them.
Then, he stood on the top of the hill with the staff of God in his hands.
He knew that raising his hands up in prayer to God is the only way for victory over the enemy.
That is the same thing in our lives.
Our enemy, the devil is always on the attack when he sees you and me weak in one or more area of life.
When he sees us weak in the way we handle our finances, he will attack us in that area and pretty soon, we are surrounded by debts.
When he sees us weak in the area of handling our temper, he will attack us in that area and sooner or later, we are in verbal conflicts with other people.
When he sees us weak in the way we handle our sexual lust, he will attack us in that area and the result can be the sin of adultery.
When he sees us weak our prayer life, he will attack us in that area and we will begin to make decisions that we will later regret.
When he sees us weak in the way we handle pride and arrogance, he will attack us in that area and the result will be spiritual disaster.
Brothers and sisters, the devil is always on the attack 24 hours a day.
He will never rest until we will be entrapped in sin.
That is why the apostle Peter warned us.
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) "8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
Look at the description of the devil.
He is like a roaring lion always ready to devour Christians.
That word "devour" means to swallow, to consume, or to destroy.
That is the nature of the devil.
He is our enemy that prowls around or moves steadily in order to gain advantage in battle.
He will advance in the church very slowly and cunningly.
He will take hold of every gossip in order to destroy our Christian integrity.
There are many Christians who get mad at any sudden provocation and leave their ministry because they have succumbed to the lies of the devil.
They are very sensitive to any criticism and have been destroyed in the process never to rise again.
But listen to me, brothers and sisters, our task is to be alert, watchful and always be observant with other people and our surroundings.
Whenever we see the first sign of danger, we must be ready to defend ourselves and fight back through persistent prayer.
We must remember that fellow Christians are NOT our enemies.
They are our partners in the ministry.
Our enemy is the devil who have provoked us to get angry so that we fight other Christians.
We must love one another.
We must remain calm, composed, restrained and at peace at all times with our brothers and sisters.
The spiritual forces will always attack us whenever he sees us not prepared for battle but we must always be watchful.
That is why the Lord Jesus advised us to always watch and pray at all times.
We must not be complacent, brothers and sisters.
We must not be self-confident.
We must not be self-righteous.
We must watch and pray at all times so that we can escape the impending disaster.
Luke 21:36 (NIV) "36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
Do you know that when the Japanese attacked Pearl harbor on December 7, 1941, it was a big surprise for the United States?
They were NOT ready for war.
IN fact, they avoided it at all cost.
They though that the Japanese would attack some territories in the nearby European colonies or in the South Pacific but not in the Pearl Harbor.
Because of that, they were not prepared and they lost 20 naval vessels, including eight enormous battle ships and almost 200 airplanes.
More than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors died including 1,000 wounded in the attack that lasted in just two hours.
From then on, America has learned her lessons well.
The enemy can only be defeated when we are ready for any attack.
2. THE ENEMY CAN BE DEFEATED BUT WE MUST ALWAYS PRAY.
Exodus 17:10-11 (NIV) "10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
The second thing we can learn from these passages is that the enemy can be defeated through prayer.
And so, Joshua fought the Amalekites with a few hand picked men he had.
While Moses went to the top of the hill and held up his hands with the staff on his hands.
The text says that the Israelites were winning whenever he did that.
But whenever he lowered his hands, the enemy were winning the battle.
This then is the secret to spiritual warfare - holding up our hands to God in prayer.
The words: "hold up hands" means an act of surrender to God's will and purpose.
It is a symbol of abandonment of self and submission to God's authority.
When you hold up your hands in prayer to God, you relinquish authority of self and you yield total control to God.
When you raise up your hands in prayer to God, you allow God to do the battle for you.
No wonder, the enemy was defeated through the Christian's united and persistent prayer.
The same is true when the apostle Paul told Timothy to:
1 Timothy 2:8 (NIV) "8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing."
They lift up holy hands of surrender to God's authority.
Look at the three important things to note in that verse:
1. Men are encouraged to pray and intercede because of their authority.
2. But these men will only be effective if they live HOLY lives. That is a prerequisite for their prayers to be heard.
3. Also, these men should deal with their anger and disputes before they could pray in power.
That means they should pray in unity of heart with other Christians.
Conflicts and division in church and home must always be avoided.
If only there are many more Christians who will lift up their hands and pray for America.
However, according to the Christian Post magazine, a survey on religion was done recently that shows that the number of Americans identifying as Christians declined from 78% to 70% since 2007.
While the number of those who have no religious affiliation increased from 15% to 23%.
The atheists have increased in number from 5% to 6%.
These atheists are ecstatic saying that Christianity is finally dying in the US.
But according to the article, over-reaction should be avoided because active Christianity remain strong and robust in America.
It just happens that more people are refusing to identify as Christians simply because of social pressure.
In fact, Orthodox Christian expressions continue to displace liberal forms of Christianity.
At the same time, the churches that are thriving are active and vibrant that are not afraid to speak up to the surrounding culture.
Many of these are mega churches whose voices are being heard loud enough by others.
The cause for concerns and sadness however is due to the fact that many Christians in America are being torn between the influence of materialism and desire for spirituality.
The spiritual battle for America is real.
Whenever we lift up our holy hands in prayer to God, the enemy will be defeated.
Whenever we stop praying and lower our hands, the enemy will thrive.
We must therefore lift up our holy hands in prayer so that we can regain our spirituality.
Here are other Bible verses that talks about the significance of lifting up our hands to God in prayer:
1. Lifting up our hands should be accompanied with praises to God.
Praise and thanksgiving to the God of heaven will give us victory over our enemies.
Psalms 134:2 (NIV) "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord."
2. Lifting up our hands should be accompanied with our hearts totally committed and surrendered to God.
Lamentations 3:41 (NIV) "Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven."
That means we abandon our self-righteousness and we yield to His control.
3. Lifting up our hands should be accompanied with a cry for mercy to God.
Psalms 28:2 (NIV) "Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place."
That means we humble ourselves, recognize our sins and we ask God to forgive us.
This will bring about revival in the land.
Remember that there are evil forces out to destroy our City and our nation when godly Christians do nothing.
But whenever we pray and humble ourselves, the evil forces are held back.
They are pushed back and forced out of operation for now.
We are holding back the works of darkness in the very time we are living.
Raising up our hands to God in prayer therefore is a sure sign of victory.
2 Thess. 2:6-7 (NIV) "6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way."
Through persistent prayer, the Holy Spirit empowered the church as an instrument to hold back the lawless one from his work.
When we unite together in prayer, the enemy is held back and God moves in the lives of people.
But when we withdraw and stop our intercession for the land, the enemy gains the upper hand and the situation becomes worse.
In the last days, tragic events will increase if the churches will lower their hands and neglect to pray.
That is why we must keep on praying.
According to the May, 2015 issue of Charisma magazine, we need Divine Intervention for the following events happening in this nation:
1. Natural disasters are claiming lives in America.
2. Economic disasters are driving poverty in America.
3. Agronomists are predicting famine in America.
4. Politicians and school children are being shot in America.
5. Pastors are falling into sexual immorality in America.
6. Violent protesters are taking to the streets in America.
7. There has been an increasingly rapid decline in America's morality since prayer was removed from schools in 1962.
8. Same sex marriages is being legalized in America.
Listen to me, brothers and sisters.
It seems that God has lifted some measure of His hedge of protection around America.
There seems to be a cloud of darkness prevailing over America.
Christians are meeting with persecution in the market-place, and anti-Christ agendas are working overtime to send America into a downward spiral of darkness.
But we have two options.
It is either we light a candle or we curse the darkness.
When we raise our hands up to God in prayer, we are lighting a candle of hope and claiming His promise of victory.
Remember God's promise:
Deut. 28:7 (NIV) "7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven."
3. THE BATTLE CAN BE FIERCE BUT WE MUST NEVER GIVE UP.
Exodus 17:12-13 (NIV) "12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."
The last thing we can learn from these passages is that the battle can be fierce and ferocious but Christians should be relentless and determined to win.
Here we find Moses' hands growing tired, exhausted and weary.
He has drained all his energy interceding for the few warriors of Israel.
But his two friends, Aaron and Hur were at his side to help him.
They took a stone and put it under him so that he could sit.
Then, they held up his hands up in the air - one on one side, one on the other.
Because of this, Moses' hands remained steady until the sunset.
And the text says that Joshua overcame the Amalekites army with the sword.
Do you know that intercession is very exhausting, unrecognized and unappreciated spiritual work by a few dedicated Christian workers who believe in the power of prayer?
But herein lies the secret of our power and victory over the spiritual forces at work around us.
Intercession can drain your energy because the struggle is not physical but spiritual in nature.
Eph. 6:12 (NIV) "12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
There are spiritual forces around us that are out to get us if we do not fight them with spiritual weapons of warfare.
No wonder, Moses' hands grew tired and exhausted.
By himself, he could be drained out but praise the Lord that there are Aarons and Hurs around him.
There are also a lot of Christians everywhere who are interceding for this nation.
The Bible says that we will be in a better position in battle when two or three people gathered together in prayer.
The key is agreement of Christians in prayer to win the battle regardless of how intense the conflict may be.
Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV) "19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
The word "agree" means be in unison, or coming to terms of two parties.
That means, there is no disagreement, no dispute, no contradiction or no dissent that should prevail between Christians when they pray together.
And when they pray in unison in the name of Christ, and humble themselves and confess their sins, their prayers will be answered from heaven.
Let me tell you a story:
In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, George Washington noted that the only way to defeat the British was to request for divine intervention.
That means he musty commit this nation under God to win an independence.
He had to appeal to God in heaven for an intervention to give him the victory.
And so, he had an idea.
He requested that a white flag should be made with an evergreen tree in it and and the words "Appeal to Heaven" preceded both the stars and stripes symbolizing the states of the union.
He took that from Genesis 12:33 when Abraham planted an evergreen tree and called upon God as the "Everlasting God."
It was a way of saying, "I will commit this nation under God and forever honor this covenant with the everlasting God."
He made a covenant with God for the future of this nation.
And of course, we all knew that George Washington won the war of independence that day because God answered his prayer.
From then on, the words "In God We Trust!" was in every coin of the United States.
Every time we honor God, our land prospered.
Every time we ignore God, our land will face the judgment of God.
However, during this critical hour, America is turning away from its biblical roots and facing a lot of calamities.
It all started with the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, then came a lot of natural and catastrophic disasters, the ballooning levels of debt, the growing fears of World War III, the ISIS attack on American soil and many more.
We might be living in the Biblical end times.
It is as of we are facing the progressive judgment of God being unveiled because we have not honored the everlasting covenant with God for this nation.
Even Billy Graham, the famed evangelist in 2012 compared America to ancient Nineveh.
When the prophet Jonah proclaimed God's warning, the people of Nineveh repented and escaped God's judgment.
Graham believed the same thing can happen to America.
When we turn away from sin and humble ourselves, we can avert God's judgment upon our land.
That is why it is important for us to raise our hands in prayer for our land.
And so, this "Appeal to heaven" flag has become a symbol of the growing recognition that we need divine intervention in our land.
Many Christians have created this flag and raised them to be flown over state capitols.
Even Christian state legislators wore the "Appeal To Heaven" pin.
We need a great spiritual awakening over America.
Psalms 31:24 (NIV) "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."
God wants us to be strong and take heart.
Have you raised up your hands in prayer for this nation?
Have you hoped in God's intervention over our land?
Or have you have you been complacent in your prayer for this nation?
Only time will tell whether in our generation, we have light up a candle or cursed the darkness.
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