Mensa Otabil - Pharaoh Asks For Prayer
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Exodus chapter 8, verse 8: Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, «Entreat the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go that they may sacrifice to the Lord.»
This is the first of many promises Pharaoh makes and turns his back on. But I want you to notice something he says: «Entreat the Lord for me.» The first time Moses told Pharaoh that the Lord had sent him to tell you, «Let my people go,» he asked Moses, «Who is the Lord?» Now he knows who the Lord is, so he says, «Entreat the Lord, speak to this your God and intercede for me.» Pharaoh is, for the first time, recognizing that God is superior, that God is with Moses, and that what God is doing is outstanding. He begs Moses to talk to God to intercede for him. Pharaoh is asking for prayer.
Then the second thing he says is, «Entreat the Lord to take away the frogs.» Now, if his sorcerers and magicians were powerful, they could have taken away the frogs. So Pharaoh, for the first time, recognizes that what is happening is beyond his ability and is beyond the capabilities of the spiritual entities around him. He recognizes the superiority of the finger and the power of God. The magicians cannot take away the frogs, so he says, «Lord, You are the cause of the frogs, and so You can be the one who takes them away.»
You know, there comes a time in our lives when we all reach this point. When we come to that point, sometimes people ask for prayer because things happen in our lives, and we just know we need God. This is beyond us; this is not just a natural occurrence. Many times, when people reach that point, even if they don’t go to church or love God, they just say, «Can you please pray for me, Pastor? Pray for me, tell your pastor to pray for me.» They may even go to church for a while and try to avert what is happening because they recognize this is way beyond them, and that’s where Pharaoh is. However, there is not much sincerity in what he’s doing; he just wants relief but is not repenting.
The third thing he says is, «I will let the people go; I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.» You know the kind of promises people make when they really want God to do something for them: «Oh, I’ll go to church for the rest of my life; I will give every penny I have to God.» They make all these promises to God, all because they have frogs that must leave their lives. They need help; they need deliverance, and so they make promises. But as we will find out later, Pharaoh is not in a promise-keeping mode; he’s just seeking help.
There are people like that, and I hope none of you is like that, who have seen the power of God, recognize that something is happening that is beyond you, want God to help you, and are making promises to God but have no intention of keeping them. If that is your state, then as we watch what happens to Pharaoh, there are lessons you can learn for your own life: don’t make promises to God that you don’t intend to keep.
At this point, it’s good enough; he starts with «Who is the Lord?» Now he says, «Entreat the Lord, and I will let you guys go and worship the Lord.» We’ll see what happens after this.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, let the heathen recognize Your rule. Bring down every throne that exalts itself against You. In Jesus' name, Amen.»