Christians, Please Pray with Your Pastor

By -
I was reading the Spurgeon evening devotional dated April 16 and the key verse was Exodus 17:12. Exodus 17 records two events. One of them was where Moses fetched water from a rock in Horeb. The place was later called Massah and Meribah. From Exodus 7:8-16, we can read of the situation where the children of Israel were struggling against the wicked Amalekites. One thing worth noting in this situation is that as long as Moses had his arms raised that Israel prevailed. But when he was tired, Israel started to lose.

This is where both Aaron and Hur came into the picture. Moses' arms were tired and weary. He was 80 years old. Aaron was 83 years old. It's not easy to be an old man leading a flock of rebellious people. Moses was getting weaker. Amalek prevailed over the children of Israel when Moses' arms started to weaken. Both Aaron and Hur started helping Moses put his arms up. It was a struggle. Joshua soon won the battle but only when Moses had two more to assist in the prayer struggle.

What can be applied in this situation? We can see how Moses' situation as written by Charles H. Spurgeon in that same evening devotional:
So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. So, in the soul's conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God. Prayer, like Moses', holds up the token of the covenant before the Lord. The rod was the emblem of God's working with Moses, the symbol of God's government in Israel. Learn, O pleading saint, to hold up the promise and the oath of God before him. The Lord cannot deny his own declarations. Hold up the rod of promise, and have what you will. 
Moses grew weary, and then his friends assisted him. When at any time your prayer flags, let faith support one hand, and let holy hope uplift the other, and prayer seating itself upon the stone of Israel, the rock of our salvation, will persevere and prevail. Beware of faintness in devotion; if Moses felt it, who can escape? It is far easier to fight with sin in public, than to pray against it in private. It is remarked that Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying; the more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it. Let us cry, then, for special strength, and may the Spirit of God, who helpeth our infirmities, as he allowed help to Moses, enable us like him to continue with our hands steady "until the going down of the sun;" till the evening of life is over; till we shall come to the rising of a better sun in the land where prayer is swallowed up in praise.

One must remember that the pastor himself is not superhuman. He is subject to trials and temptations and he can backslide if he's not careful with his walk with God. He can pray but him praying alone would be a very difficult task. That is why we pray for each other and pray with each other. It's very easy to forget to pray or to grow weary in spiritual warfare. Moses himself portrays the pastor who soon gets tired. It's a good thing that Aaron and Hur were there to help him in his prayers. The pastor is someone who needs other people to help him do God's work. That's why Ephesians 4:11 makes a list of those assigned for the ministry of God.
And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

The pastorate is not a one man army. The pastor is indeed likened to a captain or supreme commander of the army. What good will the captain or supreme commander of the army be without an army? He would be of no use. The pastor is someone who should never be alone in his struggle to bring forth the mission of the Church - to preach to lost sinners, to serve as a hospital for repentant sinners, a museum of righteous saints who were once rotten sins and a mighty army of the LORD to carry the Great Commission. He needs people praying for him and praying with him.

Only when we had Moses praying together with Aaron and Hur did Joshua's armies prevail. He was praying for Joshua's army to prevail. It was a joint effort. That's why pastors should have prayer meetings. The pastor is not the only man of God. Every Christian is a man or woman of God. Men and women of God must join forces in prayer against the evil forces of Satan. Satan is a powerful foe and no human can defeat him except by the power of the Jesus Christ.

See also: