WEEK 13:  DEVOTIONAL ON PRAYER

“So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them”. Exodus 15:24-25

Moses was under personal attack. Though implicitly, their murmuring was against God who had made Him the leader, the grumbling was directed at Moses. Leadership often carries a personal cost. The blame for adversity and difficulties often falls on the leader. Moses was the recipient of the people’s complaining and grumbling.

Working with God’s people often carries disappointments and difficulties. Just because the people of God have experienced the hand of God in the past does not mean they have surrendered complaining hearts. The tragic truth is that sometimes church people can be very hard to work with. Because we tend to expect more from God’s people, especially those in ministry and leadership, it is possible to be easily disappointed by the responses and comments of God’s people. People let him down, but God did not. Leaders must keep their hearts close to God so they do not become hardened by the critical and complaining spirit of God’s people.   

The only way to work through these things is by prayer and dependence upon God. The call of God on the life of Moses and his obedience to God’s call did not exempt him from troubles or difficulties. These difficulties were the stepping stones into the world of God’s supernatural intervention. Leadership can only be fulfilled by dependence on God. Through dependence upon God in prayer, leaders can experience the miracles and blessings of God.

Moses did the one thing He could do that reached beyond his own inabilities.  He called out to Yahweh for help. It was Yahweh who guided him to the tree. The verb showed is the root from which the word ‘Torah’, or ‘instruction’ is derived. In other words, God gave him instruction as to what he should do in response to his prayer.   There is no question that Yahweh is the source of the miracle of the changed water.  Moses saw something he had not seen before he cried out to God for help.  

Prayer often opens our eyes to see things we had not seen before.  It is in the classroom of prayer that we receive instruction as to what we should do. However, prayer did not release Moses from responsibility and action. He still had to do his part to receive the miracle of God’s grace. His trust and obedience resulted in the miracle of answered prayer.  God healed the water, revealing Himself as the God who heals His people. Through prayer, he gained a greater understanding of the character and power of God.