Amazing Grace

I was just studying the account of Moses and Joshua at the battle of Rephidim in Exodus 17. In that story, Moses found that when he stood on the hill and raised his hands that Joshua and the Israelite army won, and when he lowered his hands they lost. This certainly is a picture of prayer and there are great implications for us today.
I think that it is easy for me to have a passive, disconnected view of prayer. It can almost seem to me that I pray out of habit and my prayers can become very repetitious and seem ineffective. I realized in this passage that my view of prayer needed to dramatically change. It is true that prayer involves communion with God and can be a source of refreshment and intimacy with the Lord. I find it all too easy to relegate it to that singular benefit. But when I picture Moses on the hill, looking down on the battle, and realizing that what he did had a dramatic effect of the victory or defeat of the Israelite army, I am stirred to a greater sense of excitement in prayer. To be sure, prayer is work, as Moses had to strain to keep his arms raised and needed the help of Aaron and Hur. It is clear that God was the One who gave the victory, be he still called Moses to prayer. James writes that “the fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” How exciting it is to realize the power of prayer and to pray understanding that our work in prayer has a direct effect on the lives and souls of those we care about. When I get that truth, it makes it easier to pray as Moses until the sun goes down.

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