When the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and some of the tribes of Manasseh wanted to stay on the land east of the Jordan. Moses initially thought they were being stubborn again about going into the land. However, the leaders of the tribes assured Moses that they would not only go with their brothers to conquer the land across the Jordan, but they would lead their brothers in battle. And they would not return until the Lord had conquered the land.
In their conversation with Moses, several times they said they would fight and the Lord would win the battle over their enemies and conquer the land. I have been pondering the power of prayer the past few days and as I read this scripture this morning, it occurred to me that this is the attitude of prayer. We fight the battle on our knees and God brings the victory and conquers territory for His kingdom. It is a heart of humble worship that gives God the glory for the win.
I wonder if that is the point where we so often fail. We pray for something or someone where we believe God is at work, and then are proud of ourselves when things begin to change. We take the credit and at best say that God gave us the ability to make it happen. But we fail to thank Him and give Him the glory for what He did! We receive so much by His hand that we think we did. It is like a two-year-old who tries to lift something heavy. The dad helps him lift it without the child realizing the dad is helping and he feels so proud of himself for being able to lift the heavy object!
Pride builds in us sometimes without us even being aware. When we lose sight of who God is and what He is doing and begin to think we are the ones making it all happen, we are in great danger of losing it all. We lose our desire and ability to pray and we take things into our own hands thinking we are the ones who can make it happen. This usually ends in disaster and some if not many people being hurt. When great leaders in the church fall, we can see this pattern emerge time after time. Pray bold prayers, see answers, believe we did great things and deserve great rewards, set ourselves up as “kings with kingdoms,” and then overstep and get caught and crash. The fall begins when we forget whose power we are operating in and fail to give Him the glory. It may come quickly or it may take a few years, but the fall comes. God sees the motives of our hearts. Do we?
Lord, help me to see you at work as the children of Israel saw you. I will fight on my knees and give you all the honor and glory for conquering the territory. I can lead my brothers and sisters into the fight, but only you win the victory. Help me to listen to your voice and be faithful to obey and always grateful for what you do in and through me. And may I always give you all the glory for only you are worthy of my praise. You are faithful and I trust you completely with all outcomes. Amen.
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