The LORD Is My Banner, The Power of Raised Hands
February 24, 2021·Enma Gonzalez
Exodus 17:10-13
“So Joshua fought against the Amalekites, just as Moses had ordered. Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning. But every time he lowered his hands, the Amalekites began to win. When Moses’ arms got tired, Aaron and Hur got a stone and put it under him. Then he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands. Aaron was on one side, and Hur was on the other. Moses’ hands remained steady until sunset. So Joshua destroyed the Amalekite army with swords.”
As I read through Exodus this week, I couldn’t help but reflect on v. 11, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning.”
Throughout Scripture, we read about the power in raising our hands to the Lord. I began to see and realize the following…
Raised hands are part of biblical prayer!
Exodus 9:29-30
“Moses replied, “When I’ve left the city, I’ll lift up my hands and pray to the Lord. The thunder will stop. There won’t be any more hail. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. But I know that you and your officials still don’t have any respect for the Lord God.”
Moses raised his hands to the Lord and was able to stop a hailstorm! I believe and know that this same authority and power is given to us when we Raise Our Hands to the Lord!
Raised Hands Win Battles!
While Joshua was on the battlefield fighting the Amalekites, Moses was fighting alongside him too!
Are you facing a battle and feeling alone or misunderstood? So often, when we face a hardship, we’re quick to feel alone, defeated, misunderstood, targeted, etc. These are the schemes the enemy uses to keep us from seeing God in the midst of our worries.
If we’re going to face the world, we need to know the power of lifting our hands in prayer. Unless God is present and with us, we cannot win!
Exodus 17:12
“Aaron and Hur held up his hands. Aaron was on one side, and Hur was on the other.”
Know that as a church family we’re covering you in prayer, and you are not alone. But may I invite you to surround yourself with others. We all need people to lift our hands when we no longer have the strength to lift them up ourselves. Don’t let pride, shame or fear keep you from seeing God’s loving hand through others.
Raised hands remind us that God is our defender!
Exodus 17:14
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is something to be remembered. So write it on a scroll. Make sure Joshua knows you have done it. I will completely erase the memory of the Amalekites from the earth.”
If you ask my husband, he will be the first to tell you that my memory is of a goldfish… so often I find myself making notes because I forget!
As I read v. 14, I began to ask myself, “Lord, how much have You done for me, and how much of it have I forgotten?”
How easy it is for us to forget the Lord when our battles are won. We begin to boast on how much stronger our adversities made us, how we conquered them… but fail to see the ONE who made us stronger!
The Lord knew that if Moses did not log this moment, generations to come would forget what He did.
Exodus 17:15
“Then Moses built an altar. He called it The Lord Is My Banner.”
I invite you to begin a praise journal, jar, board, etc. Begin to build your altar to the Lord.
May I encourage you to Raise Your Hands and pray to the Lord… we are to be dependent on prayer, because we are dependent on God!
Pastor Enma Gonzalez
