Winning The Battle

"It happened that when Moses raised his hands, the Israelites would win but when he lowered them, the Amalekites would have the advantage. As Moses' arms grew weary they placed a stone for him to sit on while Aaron and Hur on either side held up his arms which remained steadily raised until sunset. For his part Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the sword." - Exodus 17:11-13

Initially I chose this verse because of the awesome way it demonstrates the power of prayer. Moses and the Israelites were engaged in battle against Amalek. He went to the top of the mountain to pray to God for victory and amazingly as Moses kept his arms raised, the Israelites would win, but the second he lowered his arms, they would start to lose. I cannot emphasize enough the power of prayer and the importance of persevering in prayer, which is something that we forget time after time after time, but tonight, God called my attention to another part of this verse - Aaron and Hur on either side of Moses helping him keep his arms up.

If we want to better our relationship with God this new year, we need to know what we want, we need to keep on moving forward without letting our mistakes hold us back, we need to pray constantly, but we also need good friends! Sure, we all have friends, friends we laugh with, friends we hang out with, friends we go to for different things, but do you have friends you pray with and who are dedicated to praying for you? And if you don't, I hope you realize it could be one of the reasons you're not where you want to be in your relationship with God. Moses was on top of that mountain praying for a very important reason and he knew how much was riding on his arms being raised to God, but Moses grew tired, as we all get tired of praying and waiting and struggling. God knows each of us faces major battles in our lives, but are you praying alone or do you have strong prayer warriors on either side of you holding up your arms when you no longer can? When things are too heavy for you and you don't even know if you can go on, do you have friends who pick you up again and return you to God so that you can finally reach the victory the Lord has in store for you? If you don't, you better ask God for them. God knows there's only so much each of us could take and it's an incredible blessing to have prayerful friends lifting you up and keeping your arms steady through out the battles of our lives.

Today's Prayer:
Father, I've had many friends, many of which disappear when times get tough for me, or talk behind my back at my weakest, but Lord, I thank you for those friends who remind me to lift up my soul to you when I'm lost in despair… friends who remind me of Your great love for me… friends who tell me that in Jesus they love me and are praying for me. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of them in my life and help me be that kind of friends to those who need me by them to raise up their arms back to You. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.