Exodus 14: 10And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. 11And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 15And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: 16But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
Notice how the Lord spoke to Moses and the children of Israel. They had just experienced the great works of God through the plagues put on Egypt. There was an impressive deliverance from 400 years of bondage. The Passover was instituted as a salvation from the death of the firstborn. They obeyed the Lord, and it worked. God’s plan always works out. Follow it no matter how peculiar it seems in this “Egyptian” world.
The people looked north and south and saw only wilderness. Ahead was the Red Sea. They were up against it. God had shown them he performs what he promises. The plan was to get to the Promised Land. When they saw Pharaoh’s army approaching from behind, they cried to the Lord. That is the proper thing to do in the time of need, but we don’t cry out to get a promise; we cry out according to his promise.
Israel showed herself, and we see a hint of impatience on God’s part. He asked them why they were crying to him. They saw the situation and fussed on Moses. They said is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. Before we get too aggravated with them, let’s think about what we do. Don’t we do this sometimes? We see the pharaohs coming. We feel trapped and start crying instead of calmly trusting.
Moses’ staff turned the Nile River to blood. We read about the promises of God over and over. A stick in Moses’ hand is only a stick. The Bible is words on a page, but with the Spirit, it is life. When God takes a staff, things happen. How many times do we ask God for help and in our next breath we complain? Moses told the people to stand still and let the Lord work. Then he cried out to the Lord, and God asked him why he was doing it. He told him to tell the people to go forward.
We jump to conclusions. We take our requests to the Lord and don’t give him room and time to work. He has his own wrist watch and doesn’t go by ours. He could have done a lot of things, but ahead of them was a sea. He told Moses to stretch out his staff and get ready to go forth. We have to put legs on our prayers. We have to use what God has given us. Sometimes it may require a little stretching on our part. We have to ask to receive. Don’t let it pass you by while you’re looking for something else. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. God opens doors, and sometimes we keep on knocking. There is a time to knock, but when the door opens, go in. Seek and ye shall find. How you seek the Lord is important. What you find—claim it! How many blessings pass us by unclaimed because we’re looking for something else? There is a time for praying and then the time comes to move forward.
There is a time to seek, but there is a time to listen and do what the Lord says. Trust him. Do it. Prayer is not to be one-sided. It is us seeking the Lord and waiting on him. Respond when he answers. Their feet started moving and the waters parted. The children of Israel walked across the sea on dry ground. The God of Israel is our God. Prayer still works. The power is in his response.
If we’re willing to pray right, be willing to take action. Why do you cry out? Why do you pray? We have lots of reasons to pray, but we have many reasons to respond when God moves. Don’t tell God how to do it. He wants to work. Listen to him. Do what he says. Two-way communication is the only way for prayer to work. If we expect God to listen to us, we should be willing to listen to him.
Cry to him we must; but then be patient, believe, and be ready to move with the answer.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 