PRAYER HELPS WIN BATTLES
By Ng Wah Lok
Text : Exo 17:8-16
In this passage, we see Israel going to war with the Amalek. Moses sends Joshua out to war but remained behind to pray. While his hands were lifted up, Israel had victory. When his hands were weary and slipped down, Israel suffered defeat. So Aaron and Hur supported Moses and helped lift his hand. Israel had a great victory that day.
Here are 5 reasons how a battle can be won through prayer.
1. INTERCESSORS MUST PRAY WHILE THE SOLDIERS FIGHT.
Exo 17:9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand”.
Moses remained behind to pray while his spiritual son Joshua fought the war. What an example of a spiritual father. No wonder Joshua became a great leader. He had a spiritual father who prayed for him. Many people go to war without prayer support. This is probably why there are so many casualties in the Christian faith. People fail to pray. Many do not have spiritual fathers to pray for them. Joshua was indeed a privileged man.
Let us look at what Moses did.
a) Standing
Standing speaks of alertness. Intercessors must be alert. An intercessor is someone who is awake in the dark and watches over the city. When the enemy comes, he will sound the alarm so that the people can arise immediately to defend the city. The Bible teaches if the watch man falls asleep and does not sound the alarm, the blood of the people will be upon his hand. What an awesome responsibility an intercessor has.
Are you Standing, Sitting or Sleeping ?
b) Top of the hill
The top of the hill is a place where the person has an overview of the battle. An intercessor should be able to see the overall purposes of God so that he will have spiritual insights on how to pray.
c) Rod of God in his hand.
Holding the rod speaks of authority. The rod was given to Moses as a sign of Moses’ leadership. Moses used the rod to defeat the Egyptian sorcerers and opened the Red Sea.
We must use our authority over the devil when we pray. When we come against the Devil in the name of Jesus, we have authority over him. Remember, pray with the authority God has given to us.
2. A WEAKENING OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER WILL LEAD TO DEFEAT
Exo. 17:11 And so it was when Moses held up his hands, that Israel prevailed and when he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed.
The evidence given in the verse is clear. When prayer stopped, Amalek prevailed.
IF WE FAIL TO PLAN, WE ARE PLANNING TO FAIL.
IF WE FAIL TO PRAY, WE ARE DESTINED TO FAIL.
In Matthew 26, we find that Jesus had trouble getting his disciples to pray with him for one hour.
V40 Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, “Why could you not wait with me one hour ?”
V41 – Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.
V45 – Are you still sleeping and resting ?
The disciples paid a high price for not praying. Within a few days of this prayerlessness, they were all scattered as Jesus was crucified. Peter denied Jesus three times. The rest of the disciples ran away as Jesus died on the cross. Only the women were left to look after his body. I often wonder if the scenario would have been different if they had prayed with Jesus at the garden of Gethsemane. Perhaps Peter may not have denied Jesus as God may have delivered him through his temptation.
3. ONE STRONG INTERCESSOR IS INSUFFICIENT. A TEAM IS NEEDED
Ex 17:12 But Moses hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him. And he sat down. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on each side, and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Moses grew tired and had to be supported by 2 strong men, one on each side. Sometimes, we think we can leave prayer to God’s appointed intercessors. The truth is that we can’t. Everyone is called to be an intercessor. A TEAM of intercessors is needed.
T - Together
E – Everyone
A - Achieves
M - More
Jesus needed his disciples to pray with him at Gethsemane (Mt 26). Can you imagine even the Son of God needed his disciples to pray with him ? How much more, we as mortal human beings need intercessors to pray with us in our time of need. We cannot live our Christian lives on the faith and prayers of a few Godly man.
Recently (year 2001) we had the Steve Hill rallies at the Bukit Jalil Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. I attended the prayer meetings for these rallies and was shocked to find that there were only 15 people there. Most Christians hoped that the anointing on Steve Hill’s life was enough to bring the crowd in so why not ride on his anointing. All of us know Steve Hill has won hundreds of thousands of souls for God. On the first day of the rally, there were only around 5000 people at the stadium. The stadium could easily hold 15000 people. I joined the intercessors group the first night and was pleased there were 150 of us there. The attendance increased the next two days. I think people started to pray after they saw the poor attendance in the first night.
EVERY TIME I PRAY, I MOVE THE HAND OF GOD….Ng Wah Lok
4. INTERCESSORS MUST RECORD, RECOUNT AND PASS ON THE PRAYER LIFESTYLE TO THE NEXT GENERATION
Ex 17:14 Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua.
There were 2 specific instructions Moses gave. Write and recount it especially to the hearing of Joshua. Moses wanted Joshua to know what happened up the hill when the battle was going on. He was praying.
Are you recording your prayers ?
Are you recording God’s answers to your prayers ?
Are you sharing your testimonies ?
Are you passing on this praying lifestyle to the next generation ?
Many revivals are not passed on to the next generation because the prayer lifestyle of the revival generation was not passed on to the next generation. So the revival dies. All revivals are birthed in prayer. In the same way, revivals can only be sustained by prayer.
My home church Full Gospel Tabernacle was birthed in 1981with only 30 people. That was the year I wrote my song “Every Time I Pray”. Today 21 years later, we are still praying intensely. The church has grown to 700 people. Recently we moved into our 7 million ringgit building. The building is fully paid.
I have learnt the discipline of journalling. It is a good record of what God is doing and has done for you.
GOD ONLY HAS SONS AND NO GRANDSONS
5. INTERCESSORY PRAYER CREATES A BANNER OF PROTECTION
Ex 17:15 Moses built an altar and called its name, The Lord is my banner.
God’s name Jehovah Nissi comes from this passage. Intercessory prayer creates a banner of protection over God’s people. What a way to end this story by remembering that God is our banner. But the banner was there only when Moses lifted his hands to pray.
People often assume that the banner will always be there. The fact is when they failed to pray, they were losing the battle. The banner over us is there on the condition that we pray.
THE SECRET OF PRAYER IS PRAYER IN SECRET.
Conclusion.
What a powerful example of how we can have victory when we pray. So many are living in defeat because they do not pray. Well, start praying today and record down your prayers and God’ answers to your prayers. Prayer will surely bring a spiritual boost to your spiritual life.
About the author Ng Wah Lok
Ng Wah Lok is the author of the song “Every Time I Pray”. Over the last 22 years, he has written over 75 songs. He can be contacted at ngwl@pc.jaring.my . You can also find many of his teaching materials on worship, music, songwriting and prayer from his website at www.tabernaclemusic.net.
Ng Wah Lok 2002 All Rights reserved
