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Exodus 17:14-16  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”  Moses built an altar and called it ‘The LORD is my Banner’.  He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.” 

Why did Moses just stand on the top of the hill with uplifted arms – would not what strength he had be better used participating in the battle with Joshua and his men below (9)?  Why was this so important that the whole fortune of the battle depended entirely on Moses’ arms being lifted up (11)?  Wasn’t it an inefficient use of resources getting Aaron and Hur to help with the leader’s ‘arms’ up on the hill instead of with the people’s (military) ‘arms’ down in the valley (12)?

If we are honest, isn’t this the sort of question we ask ourselves about prayer?  Wouldn’t we be better doing something more ‘practical’ and ‘useful’ than just ‘praying’?  Our sovereign God doesn’t ‘need’ our prayers to carry on his work any more than he ‘needed’ Moses’ muscles or Aaron and Hur’s support of them.  What he does ‘need’ is a clear expression of our absolute dependence on him.  We might seek to serve him in his Kingdom work with all the resources and strength and diligence we can muster, but unless he is with us, all our best efforts will be in vain.  This is what the arm-lifting was all about; this is what prayer is all about.  Do we take it as seriously as this?  Do we see the close relationship between our prayer life and our success against ‘Amalek’ in our generation?

In Israel’s history, Amalek symbolised all that was setting itself in defiance and active opposition to God establishing his Kingdom among us.  He is represented in Psalm 2:2-3 – “The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’”, something that is continually in our face today! The Apostle Paul spoke openly about how important his ‘Aarons’ and ‘Hurs’ were to the success of his mission: “I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.” (Philippians 1:19)

Paul’s confidence in all his efforts was not in his own strength and wisdom, but the fact that he knew people were supporting him in prayer.  It is what he meant when he wrote to Timothy, “And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle – I am telling the truth, I am not lying – and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.  Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.” (1 Timothy 2:7-8)  Prayer is so important to all our work, which is why “the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it … ‘“, because it was Joshua who would have to lead the battles in the conquest of Canaan, and he could easily get the wrong impression, that it was his military prowess that won the battle against Amalek!  I am reminded that Charles Spurgeon, one of the Church’s most fruitful preachers, had a room – what he called ‘the boiler room’ – built in the basement of the church to buttress the preaching.

– Bruce Christian