Exodus 17:8-13 The Israelites are still at Rephidim when the Amalekites attack. Moses encourages Joshua to choose some men and go out against them while he stands on the top of a hill with the staff of God in his hands.
Joshua did exactly as Moses told him, while Moses, his brother Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill above the battle. As long as Moses held up his hands - presumably in prayer - the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, they began to lose.
After a while, not surprisingly, Moses got pretty tired holding up his hands, so the others put a stone under him so that he could sit down and when his arms got tired, they held up his hands - so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Verse 13 says: "So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword".
Who do you know that serves on the front battle lines in the kingdom of God?
How about your pastors? I would venture a guess that pastors receive twice as much criticism as they do encouragement. What would it do for our pastors if we told them that we were praying for them - for their families, their ministry, their physical strength and stamina, for the power of the Holy Spirit, for joy in their service, for rest and refreshment, for spiritual fruit, for wisdom and discernment, and on and on? What if we really DID it, consistently, passionately, and powerfully? How many skirmishes with discouragement, lack of inspiration, the burden of other people's sorrows, busyness that interferes with family life, that might otherwise be lost would be won, in the power of the Lord if we faithfully prayed for our pastors?
There was a humorous item I heard a while ago called, "How to Get Rid of Your Pastor". Taking some liberty with one of the list items, let me suggest that if we wanted to get rid of our pastor, one way would be to tell him that we faithfully pray for him. He would be so surprised, he just might keel over dead, and we'd have to find a replacement! Seriously, what a blessing it would be not only to pray for our pastors, but to tell them we do.
And then there are our missionaries, our Sunday school teachers, our youth leaders, and other servants of the Lord, all battling the enemy on the front lines while we remain "on the hill" watching.
How about holding them up before the Lord today and then letting them know you have so that they might be encouraged?
Joshua did exactly as Moses told him, while Moses, his brother Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill above the battle. As long as Moses held up his hands - presumably in prayer - the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, they began to lose.
After a while, not surprisingly, Moses got pretty tired holding up his hands, so the others put a stone under him so that he could sit down and when his arms got tired, they held up his hands - so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Verse 13 says: "So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword".
Who do you know that serves on the front battle lines in the kingdom of God?
How about your pastors? I would venture a guess that pastors receive twice as much criticism as they do encouragement. What would it do for our pastors if we told them that we were praying for them - for their families, their ministry, their physical strength and stamina, for the power of the Holy Spirit, for joy in their service, for rest and refreshment, for spiritual fruit, for wisdom and discernment, and on and on? What if we really DID it, consistently, passionately, and powerfully? How many skirmishes with discouragement, lack of inspiration, the burden of other people's sorrows, busyness that interferes with family life, that might otherwise be lost would be won, in the power of the Lord if we faithfully prayed for our pastors?
There was a humorous item I heard a while ago called, "How to Get Rid of Your Pastor". Taking some liberty with one of the list items, let me suggest that if we wanted to get rid of our pastor, one way would be to tell him that we faithfully pray for him. He would be so surprised, he just might keel over dead, and we'd have to find a replacement! Seriously, what a blessing it would be not only to pray for our pastors, but to tell them we do.
And then there are our missionaries, our Sunday school teachers, our youth leaders, and other servants of the Lord, all battling the enemy on the front lines while we remain "on the hill" watching.
How about holding them up before the Lord today and then letting them know you have so that they might be encouraged?
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