Mensa Otabil - Moses Offers to Pray For Pharaoh (10/14/2025)
Exodus chapter 8, verse 9: And Moses said to Pharaoh, «Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.»
After Pharaoh realized that he could not do much about the frogs and that his magicians were making an already bad situation worse, he asked Moses for prayer. Moses responds to Pharaoh, saying, «I think it’s a bit cheeky. I’m going to give you the honor, Mr. Pharaoh. I’m giving you the honor to determine the time I should pray for you.» Moses is telling Pharaoh he will leave the timing of prayer up to him; he must choose when he thinks Moses should pray.
Moses said that first to show that God is the cause of the plague. Moses wanted to demonstrate to Pharaoh, without any shadow of a doubt, that the presence of the frogs is not a normal occurrence; it’s not just the Nile producing frogs. This is something from God. By setting the time, Pharaoh would know that the removal of the frogs would occur exactly when Moses prayed. So, Moses is setting Pharaoh up to realize this is the hand of God. Tell me when I should pray, so when the answer comes, you can measure the answer against the time of prayer.
The second thing to note is that this shows Moses has access to God. Pharaoh says, «Go and talk to God; you are the servant of God.» Moses has access to God, and he wanted to show Pharaoh that he isn’t just standing there by himself; he has God’s access. When he says, «Thus says the Lord,» the Lord is the one speaking. As the Lord speaks to Moses, he also speaks to God. Moses can take Pharaoh’s message to God. He’s sharing with Pharaoh, «I may be a Hebrew standing in front of you, but I have access to the King of the universe, and I can talk to Him on your behalf.» So first, he wants Pharaoh to know that God is the one controlling all these events. Secondly, he has access to God and can talk to Him on Pharaoh’s behalf, just as God tells him to relay His messages. Thirdly, he wanted Pharaoh to understand that God is in control of the plagues; they are not just happening randomly.
There are many revisionists out there who try to explain this plague away, saying the Nile produces frogs, so having frogs is normal. But if you look at the sequence of events, it’s not just frogs in the water, but frogs on the land. Moses says part of his prayer is that the frogs will remain in the water, as that’s where they are. This plague brought them to the land, but Moses will ask God to shift them back to their normal habitat; those that came upon the land will be destroyed.
When we speak for God, He backs us up. When you have access to God, not only does He tell you what to do, but you can also speak to Him about what is on your heart. Moses is able to bring messages to God and take messages from God; he can speak God’s word to Pharaoh and take Pharaoh’s words back to God. This is what I call spiritual authority.
May the Lord grant each of us that access where we can speak His word and take the words of people back to the Lord, so God can do things we can measure by the time of prayer. And know this is no natural occurrence; this is the finger of the Lord, the hand of the Lord. May the Lord show Himself strong on your behalf in this supernatural way.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, You cause things to be and not to be. Turn the seasons of my life to favor me. In Jesus' name, Amen.»