The title of the message is Prayer, Part XIII: We Are in a Spiritual Warfare; It Is Time to Get Serious About Prayer. The link is below.
If you were entering into battle, would you go into battle without a weapon? No, you would carry as much as you could to fight the enemy. So why is it that preachers and Christians enter into this warfare over lost souls and your mind with the lack of the Word of God and the lack of praying? It is so important to be ready for anything. Do we think that Satan and his demons are coming at us with water guns? No, he is coming at us with all of his might, and the warfare is getting worse by the day. We need to get down on our knees more than ever. Let’s get into the message.
Text verse: Exodus 17:8-16
Exodus 17:8: “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Exodus 17:9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow, I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
Exodus 17:10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Exodus 17:11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Exodus 17:12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Exodus 17:13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Exodus 17:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
Exodus 17:16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
In verse 8, they fought with Israel. Israel today has more enemies than any other nation on Earth. Their number one enemy is Satan. Christians have the same enemy as Israel. It started with God and Satan. The Devil thought he could put his throne above God, but he found out that he could not do this. Pride entered in, and he sinned before a Holy God and was condemned to hell forever. Then the sin of Adam is when it begins for us. I am reminded of these verses. Especially verse 12. We cannot see the enemy. But we see the results of this warfare every day.
Ephesians 6:11-18 11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
Notice in Ephesians 6 verse 18 above, praying always and watching — it seems no one is watching. Pastor and preacher, you need to watch your family while we are trying to save the world; our sons and daughters are going downhill spiritually fast. (Please pray for my lost 13-year-old son Jeremiah.)
In Exodus 17, verse 9, Moses tells Joshua to go and choose men to fight. You need to be chosen to be behind the pulpit. But all Christians are chosen to enter the fight. Have you been chosen to preach the Word of God? What has God chosen you to do? There is so much to do for Christ. So many churches are looking for pastors.
In verse 9, Moses said he would stand on top of a hill. I know a man that was crucified on a hill. His name is Jesus Christ, and the tomb is still empty. We did not have to live a life of being defeated. The closer we get to God, the more that we can hear from him.
In verse 10, Joshua went into battle. When you get to heaven, are you going to be known as a warrior or one that stood on the side of the battle? If those in heaven could see you, how would they feel if you were not entering the war here on Earth? How would the lost souls in hell feel if they could see you and you were a friend, but you never said anything to them about Christ? What would they say? They would be screaming at you, why did you not tell me about Jesus?
Verse 11 is a perfect picture of prayer warriors. Prayer is so important. When Moses’ hands would start falling down, Israel would start losing. When Moses kept his hands up, Israel would be winning. THE LORD WORKS THROUGH PRAYER. When are we going to get this? Then we look at the prayer meeting with three prayer warriors. Moses was having his hands up for so long that he would get tired. Aaron and Hur would help hold his hands up. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Wow, what power is shown here through prayer! We cannot win the battle apart from prayer. That is the weakest link in our Christian life.
Verse 12: His hands were heavy. How long have you been on the front line? It may be time to take a break. This battle takes a toll on all of us. They took a stone.
Mark 12:10 “And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. Psalms 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”
On top of a hill, Moses’ arms were on a stone. This life is really all about Jesus. If we had him in our battle, we would win. Jesus is the head of the corner. The stone is the church. Israel sang about this. Aaron was on one side of Moses, and Hur was on the other side. Do you have a preacher’s prayer list? We need to pray for each other.
Verse 13: The victory. Israel wins. If you are on the side of Christ, you have already won. Thank you, Jesus.
Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The only way to fight this battle is through prayer and the Word of God. There is nothing else we need to fight this battle.
Verse 14: The Lord told Moses to write this event for a memorial in a book. When you are feeling down and about to give up, go back to the victories that have been in your life. Don’t quit.
Verse 15: The name Jehovahnissi. Jehovah means my banner. It is a symbolic name of an altar in the desert. Even in the desert, God is with you. He needs to be our banner. He is the one that is fighting for us.
Verse 16: What if you could talk with Amalek today and ask him the question, was it worth it to go against God Almighty? I would like to ask him if he really thought he could win by going against God.
In closing
Some things to think about.
- Do you have a prayer closet?
- How much time do you spend in the prayer closet?
- Do you have a daily prayer list, and how long is it? (It should be growing.)
- Do you have a pastor/preacher prayer list?
- Do you have a breakthrough prayer list?
6 Do you have an intercessory prayer list for the lost? (It should be growing.)
If you are serious about prayer, I ask you to go through all of the messages on my YouTube channel that are about prayer.
Urgent Prayer for these 7 nations:
PLEASE JOIN THIS WORLDWIDE PRAYER MOVEMENT.
I am asking all prayer warriors from around the world to join us for a day of prayer, fasting, and repentance for these 7 nations on April 18, 2023.
- Tajikistan and on behalf of over 10,166,756 precious souls.
- Kyrgyzstan and on behalf of over 6,835,138 precious souls.
- Turkmenistan and on behalf of over 6,286,041 precious souls.
- East Timor and on behalf of over 1,388,945 precious souls.
- Bhutan and on behalf of over 795,788 precious souls.
- USA and on behalf of over 336,450,353 precious souls.
- Israel and all Jews around the world and on behalf of over 15.3 million precious souls.
Please be a part of the harvest of lost souls in these 7 nations. Please join us on that day, and I ask you to please post this on all media. We are trusting that we are moving the heart of God Almighty.
Prayer request: I will be moving back to my home state of Texas. I ask you to pray for my son and me. The next article will be about the move to Texas and so many more things that are going on in my life. It is so amazing what the Lord is doing in this ministry and in my personal life.
Facebook page: Prayer Warriors 4HIM Online Ministries
Email bkwatts64@yahoo.com
Keith Watts
Online Missionary to the world