Lord, Teach Me to Pray…For the Dakotas

NOTE: Today we begin our Baker State Mission Offering and Month of Prayer for the Dakotas. To help you in your prayer time, we have prepared a book with 30 devotionals entitled, “Lord, Teach Me to Pray . . . for the Dakotas. It is built around the Lord’s Prayer and various Bible passages. We have books in both English and Spanish. Dakota Baptist churches can request copies on the DBC website for each of your families. For those of you outside of the Dakotas, we will post each devotional each day throughout September on our Facebook page. If you would like to contribute to the Baker State Mission Offering, you can do so through your Dakota Baptist church, or online at www.dakotabaptist.com. 

Day 1: Exodus 2:23-25

It’s All about God

Focus: “God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel and took notice of them.”  (vv. 24-25)

Your boss hands you an assignment. The summary tells you what the final product is supposed to be but does not tell you how to do it or what resources to use. He gives you no guidance and never checks to see how you are doing. You can only call on him, “if it is a dire emergency.” You do the best you can, but on the day the job is due he walks in and chews you out, because it wasn’t done right. What would you think of this kind of boss? I hear some of you saying, “Yep! That’s my boss, alright!”

Some folks look at God this way. They act like God has given them the major assignment of living life and accomplishing His will “the best they can.” If things get really bad, they scream for help; but by and large they are “Lone Ranger” Christians. That is not the God of the Bible!

Find 100 Christians who have read the book of Exodus. Ask each of them, “Who is the ‘star’ of Exodus?” I bet more than 80% will say Moses, and a casual reading may seem to support this. Moses is saved from the bulrushes and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses kills the Egyptian soldier. Moses tends sheep on the backside of the desert. Moses sees the burning bush. Moses returns to Egypt to lead God’s people. Moses! Moses! Moses! But, read deeper!

Look at today’s verses. God already had a plan to rescue Israel long before He called Moses.” In fact, when He called Moses, He said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have given heed to their cry . . . so I have come down to deliver them” (Ex. 3:7-8). Exodus is not about Moses; it is about God! God was already moving with compassion toward His people. He simply chose to include Moses.

Moses, on the other hand, was on the backside of the desert feeling useless and forgotten. Do you ever feel that way? But even as Moses wondered, God was busy! And, He has not changed! God is already at work in the Dakotas. He invites you to be a part. Are you willing? Are you ready? Let’s spend some time at the burning bush letting God prepare our lives to play the part He has for us in what He is already doing.

Praying for the Dakotas: Ask God for the patience to wait on Him, the vision to see His will, and the boldness to follow.

Questions for Spiritual Growth:

1. How did God show that He still loved His people?

2. What are some ways God shows His love toward you?

3. What areas of your life do you sense a need for God to develop?

“Some folks look at God this way. They act like God has given them the major assignment of living life and accomplishing His will “the best they can.” If things get really bad, they scream for help; but by and large they are “Lone Ranger” Christians. That is not the God of the Bible!”