"God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them."
Exodus 2:24,25 (NIV)
You may think that it is just a bit of archaic language, but this is the first of four examples that we will examine together that demonstrate the role of prayer in bringing about the revealed will of God. God had told Abram, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” (vs 13,14) This is clearly the revealed will of God, spoken to Abram 400 years before the Israelites cried out before the Lord and He heard them and acted on their behalf. Their captivity, like Joseph’s captivity, was the result of evil intentions of men, being used for good (redemptive) purposes by God.
These verses clearly present God as waiting until a certain level or quantity of noise reached Him, and nowhere does God tell them: “Hey I told you I would redeem you, be quiet and wait until the time I have set.” We might tell our kids that when they keep asking us: “Are we there yet? How much longer?” etc, but God never tells us to be quiet. As a matter of fact, God tells us to pray continually (1 Thess 5:17), and He tells us to never give up on a request (Lk18:1-8). The Bible teaches from the book of Genesis through to the book of Revelation that God moves after we pray. He accomplishes His will on earth through people praying for Him to act, and to fulfill His promises.
Our Lord taught us to pray: Your kingdom come, your will be done. May we cry out to Him today, may our lips utter what our hearts desire.
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