7 Portraits in Prayer, Day 3: Morning

Week 1, Power to Pray, Day 3: Presence

(Read Exodus 17:11–12)

 

In this portrait of Moses, we see that in the hands of Moses was the rod of God. The Rod of God is a symbol of God’s presence and power and is evidenced here as when in the hands of Moses, victory occurred on the battlefield. Perhaps no other book is so well-known on the presence of God than the 17th century writings of Brother Lawrence. In his book, The Practice of the Presence of God, he wrote,

“Were I a preacher, I would above all other things preach the practice of the presence of God. Were I a director, I would advise all the world to do it, so necessary do I think it, and so easy too. Ah! knew we but the want we have of the grace and assistance of God, we would never lose sight of Him, no, not for a moment.

“Believe me. Immediately make a holy and firm resolution never more to forget Him. Resolve to spend the rest of your days in His sacred presence, deprived of all consolations for the love of Him if He thinks fit. Set heartily about this work, and if you do it sincerely, be assured that you will soon find the effects of it.”

We first see the rod or staff when Moses first encountered God at the burning bush (Exodus 4). God asked Moses what he held in his hand and as a shepherd of sheep, it was not at all uncommon for him to carry a stick with him. God told Moses to throw it down on the ground, and when he did, it became a serpent.

But is also became something else. From that time forward, it was no longer the rod of Moses, but the rod of God. A rod held in our own hands is simply a stick, but when we cast down what we have to be used by God, it becomes an instrument of Great Power when it is in the possession of our great and mighty God.

Exodus 4:20 says that Moses took his sons and his wife and returned to Egypt with the rod of God, symbolizing God’s presence. With that same rod of God, the waters turn to blood, frogs come forth; dust becomes lice; hail, thunder and fire comes down, the Red Sea parts. In today’s reading, as Moses stands on the hill and Joshua fights below, the staff or rod is called the rod of God.

God’s power is most greatly shown when His presence is most greatly sensed.  

Pray this prayer to God: “Holy Spirit, You hear my silence and my prayers. You know me inside out and better than I know myself. Your promise to never leave me gives me courage to speak with you moment by moment throughout the day. Come in my presence as I come into yours. Lord, hear my prayer. Amen.”

Click here for Day 3, Evening.