Transcript

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Welcome to the Press podcast, where we believe that prayer reaches every single situation. We are so excited about the prayer journey that we're taking together as we journey through the scriptures to see what God has been, what he will be, and we know what he is right now. We know his patterns. We know his thoughts. We know how he reacts by studying the scriptures and we can also learn from them what gets his attention.

Today we are back in the Book of Exodus. Chapter 5, verse 22 & 23 and I want to dive right in because today's episode is going to talk about how to pray when things keep getting worse.

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How do you address God when you have prayed, you have followed him and it seems like nothing's getting better?

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Exodus 5:22-23 this is Moses's prayer.  Now as we set it up, Moses, as you know, has been sent for the  deliverance of the children of Israel from the captivity of Egypt.  They have been in captivity for 400 years. Some of them are very used to Egypt. People are now born there. Generations are born there. They have lived there. They have dwelt there. They built lives there. Being a slave is all they knew. The promise of their deliverance came before they were born. They don't even necessarily know how to be delivered or how to follow this God. You don't see a new word to them concerning how the Lord is going to make a way for them or anything else in this 400 year captivity until Moses.

Can you imagine when this is just my life? Somebody is saying, “Yeah, your life is hard. God has heard you.  He's going to take you out.”

Even today, when we go to witness to people and tell them- No, the Lord is going to change it. He's going to do it. Even when they're hurting. Even when they're crying. There's a part of them that often adapts to their reality. And so the prospect of deliverance can create pressure and frustration, especially when it's not seen right away.

What we see here first in Chapter 4 is that God promises Moses- Yes, I'm going to deliver the children of Israel. I'm going to deliver them at your hands.  I'm going to do signs and wonders to prove to them who you are but Pharaoh's not going to hear you. And so I'm going to need you to follow this script because I'm still going to get them out. In Exodus Chapter 5, Moses goes to Pharaoh and he asked him to let the children of Israel, the Hebrew people, let them go and let them celebrate the feasts of their Lord for three days.

When he makes his request to Pharaoh, Pharaoh's heart becomes hardened and he takes the posture that if everybody can afford to take a three day vacation, they're not working hard enough. He says to the taskmasters in Exodus 5:4, Don't you give anymore straw to the people to make their brick and let them go and gather it for themselves and the tail of the bricks which they did make heretofore, you shall lay upon them. You shall not diminish ought thereof.

He begins to take away anything that already made their hard job easier. He says in verse nine, let there more work be laid upon the men that they may labor therein and let them not regard vain words.

Basically, make their job harder. They've got way too much time on their hands. I guess we've made being enslaved too easy. They can think about vacation. They can think about going for three days into the wilderness to worship, then they have too much time on their hands. We have to cut this off at the knees.

You see, Pharaoh was already afraid of the Hebrew people.

The Egyptians one day will be lesser than the Hebrews. He noted in chapter one that they are mightier than we. That caught my attention because I found it interesting that their enemy knew how strong they could be, even before they did so.                                                                                                                   

Pharaoh here in Chapter 5 is being very strategic. He wants to make sure that he makes their jobs as hard as possible so they don't even have time to think about leaving for three days. He understands if they try to leave for three days, then they might try to leave longer. 

So what happens is that the officers of the children of Israel, they come and they cry to fear.

They’re like, wherefore doest thou dost with thy servants? Why are you being so mean to us? Why are you being so hard upon us? And Pharaoh lets them know exactly why. 

They said to him, they said there is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, make brick and behold, thy servants are beaten. But the fault is thine own people-  you guys are doing this to us.

The Egyptians, they're making it impossible for us to do our jobs and then they're beating us for not doing our jobs. 

But Pharaoh replies, he says you are idle. You are idle.

He actually says it twice.

Therefore, ye say, let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now and work for there shall no straw be given you yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the Children of Israel did see that they were in evil case after it was said, you shall not diminish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way.

So they go to Pharaoh and they're like, why are you doing this? This is too much. We're getting beaten for not doing our job, but we can't do our job because we don't have the tools to do our job.

He lets them know that's because they asked for this vacation. You want a three day vacation, then your job needs to be harder because you have too much time to do nothing.

They're coming back from this conversation and they run into Moses and Aaron. Note, they didn't have this problem beforehand. Moses and Aaron Moses came to them saying God's going to get us out. He's going to make a way. I'm going to go talk to Pharaoh.

Now true, the Bible let's us know that God says to Moses- I've heard the cry of my children.  God had already told Moses in Exodus 3:7, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters for I know their sorrows.”

They had already been crying about their tasks. They had already been crying out to the Lord. God knew they were in a tough place. They were welcoming somewhat of the message of Moses of deliverance, of escape, of freedom, but everything just got exponentially worse. 

You started preaching to us.  You started getting our hopes up, and now our job just got harder following you. Moses has made life worse. 

And when they come to Moses, they say “the Lord look upon you and judge because ye have made our savior to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.” You've given them ,Moses, a license to kill us. You made it worse.

Moses is now carrying this and Exodus 5:22 when he begins praying to God, he's carrying the reality- I said what you wanted me to say. I went where you wanted me to go. I've done what you asked me to do and it's still bad. Not only is it bad, it's worse.

I believe that any true saint can testify that sometimes between the word God gives you and the reality of it coming to fruition, there is a period where it just gets worse and that's where Moses is praying from today.

He turns to the Lord, Wherefore hast thou so evil, entreated this people? Why is it that thou has sent me for since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name? He hath done evil to his people neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

God, what am I doing here? I don't see where you're working. They're hurting even more- My loved ones. The ones I'm risking my life for. The ones I've killed for. The ones I came back for. It seems it's just getting worse. God, why am I here now?

Some people have problems with asking God questions. I do not. I believe that if I don't ask God, who am I gonna ask? He's the only one who has the answers. 

Again, noting the posture in which Moses asked because he is a humble man, there is a level of humility to him that is implied just because of the sheer nature of the way he's described in the Bible. But we know we can't go questioning God as in, why would you do this? Yeah, that tone will not go well. But if I don't ask him, who can I ask? Still, though, you have to recognize, even in asking, he doesn't have to answer the question, and he really doesn't quite answer the question- Why have you done this? God, why are they being so badly treated? Why have you sent me?

God starts talking and Exodus 6:1, the Lord lets Moses know, now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. 

This is often God's response to the low places when you don't go off track asking God what's happening, being honest and transparent with him about where you are, and your brokenness, and even your disappointment.

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He doesn't seem to have a problem with that. In other scriptures it is noted when God is angry or when he's upset. He doesn't seem to be angry or upset, or at least it's not noted, but he also is not worried about the question. 

He lets Moses know, now you're going to see it.

I love God because he's the God of the low places too. I love God, because in the moments when I would panic, he does not.  He's not worried.  He's not stressed.  He knows what's happening.  And yet, he allows Moses to be human, to ask the question, but the humility, the bowing to God, is recognizing He doesn't have to take the question or answer.  But what God does do is decide he's still keeping his word.

He's so faithful to his word. 

He told Moses from the start that pharaoh is going to reject you. He told Moses from the start I'm going to do signs and wonders. He told Moses from the start I'm going to use you to deliver the children of Israel or the Hebrew people from the hand of Pharaoh. He told Moses from the beginning that I've got this. And now that we're out here and testing the water, so to speak, Moses has got a little nervous and he's heavy. He didn't understand. He didn't know the way the people would come for him. He expected their unbelief, and he asked for signs concerning that but then for it to get worse, for them to turn on him- How hard could that be when love is what made you come out here?

I understand Moses's prayer, but I love God's response because he doesn't ride our roller coasters. He allows us to be human and emotional, but he's not always sitting there like, yeah, I know, I know, I know.

Why? Because he sees further than we see. 

He knows that his word is sure- that it's going to come to pass.

He knew when he gave the word, the obstacles that the word would encounter, but that's why he can guarantee that his word will not return unto him void. He guarantees it that when he gives a word. He says in Isaiah 55:11, so shall my word be that go forth out of my mouth. It shall not return into me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it.

It is going to go and it is going to grow. The word of the Lord is safe and secure  because he's inspected the terrain before he spoke. He determined before he gave you a word that he could keep it, no matter what would come. He saw everything coming and he determined that this word is up to the challenge.

He doesn't have to deal with Moses's emotional state. He says I'm going to do what I said and you're going to see it.

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I pray that this encourages somebody today that: Yes, you might be going through. Yes, things might be getting worse. Yes, you might have been trusting God and at his word, but they're still getting worse. The response of God to this kind of prayer, to those kind of tears, to that kind of cry, is he knows and you're going to see his hand. So, keep praying. Keep telling him. 

Keep pressing because prayer reaches every single situation.