“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…” Luke 18:1 (NKJV)
Have you or someone you love ever struggled with bondage to some sort of sin?
Whether it’s addiction, pride, rebellion, or even enslavement to the world rather than having freedom in Christ, it is painful to watch someone go through that. Chances are, that person and their struggles were or are a regular part of your prayer life as a result.
Recently, I spent some time crying out to the Lord on behalf of someone in my life who has become in bondage to some sin. As I poured out my heart in worship, He prompted me to the story of Moses in Exodus Chapters 1 through 14. Many of you will be familiar with it as it recounts the very famous story of the ten plagues God inflicted on Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. As I was reading the story, I felt the Lord impressing on my heart three important lessons.
First, when Moses asked for deliverance for his people, things got worse before they got better.
Moses had an encounter with God. He had a Word. He knew God would deliver his people. Yet, when he went to Pharaoh as instructed, Pharaoh increased the workload of the Israelites. His people came to Moses and Aaron, “And they said to them, ‘Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Exodus 5:21 (NKJV)
If you’re praying for deliverance and things seem to be moving backward, don’t be discouraged. God is mighty. “Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known.” Psalms 106:8 (NKJV)
Second, the person you are praying for does not have to work with you to receive the benefit of deliverance.
I struggled with this lesson for the longest time, because the person I am praying through deliverance for right now has rejected God. As I read the passage, my spirit caught this verse: “So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.” Exodus 6:9 (NKJV) The Israelites didn’t believe Moses when he said God would deliver them because all they could see was their present circumstances.
It could be the same thing with your loved ones. Maybe they don’t think what they’re doing is wrong or even see the need for deliverance. They see the options before them and reject God to pick up the sin that continues to enslave them. Just like Moses, we need to be steadfast in God’s Word and believe what He told us. God is truth. “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19
Third, Pharaoh did not let the enslaved Israelites go the first time Moses asked him.
It took miraculous signs, wonders, and plagues before Pharaoh finally relented and let the Israelites go. Even then, he still came after them to bring them back! We must be relentless in our intercessions the way Moses was relentless with Pharaoh.
As I reflected on this particular lesson, God reminded me of the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. The widow kept coming to the unjust judge to cry out for justice, “And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” This man, like Pharaoh, had no respect for God, but because the widow was persistent, she received the answer to her petition.
The focus verse for this post really touched my heart, because so many times, we don’t receive answers to our prayers because we lose heart. Like Moses, and like the persistent widow, we have to keep coming to God. God is good. “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalms 27:13-14
