01/21/25 God Hears

READING:

One-year plan: Exodus 8-10

Two-year plan: Ezra 8-9, Acts 11:27-12:5

———-

We read stories of prayer in the Bible, and I fear that we sometimes gloss over them. When we do that, we miss an opportunity to be amazed by the power of prayer. As I have read the stories of the plagues on Egypt today, I’ve paused to focus on these texts (including the portions I’ve italicized):

  • “After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that he had brought against Pharaoh. The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died.” (Exo 8:12-13)
  • “Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord. The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.” (Exo 8:30-31)
  • “Moses left Pharaoh and the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land.” (Exo 9:33)
  • “Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord. Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.” (Exo 10:18-19)

With each of these plagues, Pharaoh asked Moses to appeal to God, and Moses interceded. He spoke to God—and God heard. The texts quite clearly show us that God responded to each of Moses’ requests. Meanwhile, the Egyptians were following a pantheon of gods who could hear nothing.

PERSONAL REFLECTION: God hears our prayers—does that amaze you?            

DAILY PRAYER: “God, thank You for hearing our prayers.” 

TOMORROW’S READINGS:

One-year plan: Exodus 11-14

Two-year plan: Ezra 10, Acts 12:6-25

MEMORIZATION VERSE (JAN 16-31):

 “A person’s steps are established by the Lord, and he takes pleasure in his way.” (Psa 37:23)

 *first published in 2019

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.