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Amram and Jocabed were the parents of Moses. They had the exciting privilege of witnessing the Lord work in the most wonderful way in answer to their prayer of faith. When there appeared to be no hope that their little boy could be saved from certain death in the river, God provided them with the way through! They had prayed in faith. They believed in God. They saw the most astonishing answer to their prayer. They Lord did much more than save him. He intervened in such a way that Moses was taken under the protective care of Pharaoh's daughter.

This was accomplished in such a way that for the early years of his life, Pharaoh's daughter placed him in the care of his praying parents! In those crucial years it was their faith, their prayers, their love which God used to effectively mold his life. Later, as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, he was taken into Pharaoh's palace. There he was provided with the best training and education which Egypt could provide.

Amram and Jocabed were only unimportant, insignificant slaves to the Egyptians. God gave to them the privilege of seeing their son become a man in an environment where it appeared that everything was going for him. He had it all! Position! Power! Prestige! Training! Education! Influence! Think of it! If God could use the prayers of two who were but mere slaves, what could he do with this man? The answer is so unexpected: Very, very little! Yet...

Moses had personally chosen to identify himself with his brethren, the Hebrews. He had deliberately taken their part against the abusive treatment of their Egyptian taskmasters. He really did believe that God had raised him up to make a decisive difference for his people.

Yet, there was something in which he was most vitally lacking! Prayer had not yet been given the place in his life which it had held in the lives of his parents. The inevitable result of this was: he had tried, so very hard ... yet failed ... completely! Then he had fled in fear and panic as Pharaoh gave the order that he be killed. What was wrong? Before the Lord could use Moses the way He intended to use him, Moses must attend 'school'.

For the first forty years of his life, Moses had always lived in close proximity to people, crowds of people. Initially this had been in the home of his parents. There he had witnessed their lives as they shared the suffering, hardship, and arduous toil of the Hebrew people. Their lives were constantly controlled and severely regulated by the Egyptians. They had very little time for themselves, even less opportunity to be alone in solitude. Then, Moses had been initiated into the busy life of Pharaoh's palace. His life was continually disciplined by the requirements of his education and training as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

But for the next forty years, Moses would have to adjust to living in totally different circumstances. He was received into the home of a nomadic shepherd. He was entrusted with the responsibility of caring for the sheep. More often than not in the long years ahead he would find himself with no other company than the sheep for which he cared. This would be a completely different life, many days and nights in the utter solitude of the desert.

What a stark contrast that solitude would have been compared to all of his previous experiences. He was cut off from the crowds of the palace. All of its pomp and pageantry, as well as its intrigue, were gone! He found himself in the solitude of the lonely desert... alone, yet not alone... for there he really began to know God!

What a contrast. Once it was all of the various teachers and instructors who were attempting to drill him in the ways and customs of Egypt. Now, in this quiet place, he had only one Teacher! There, this Teacher began of reveal Himself and His ways to His chosen servant!

All of the truly great men and women of prayer have been compelled to learn, one way or another, the lessons which can only be learned in solitude. There -- alone with God! There -- where the Lord has really been able to get, and to hold, their attention. There -- teaching them: to really pray!

The Lord in His Word gives us the dramatic example of Elijah. James speaks of Elijah as a man who was as human in every respect as we are. Then he adds, "Elijah prayed!" (see James 5:17)

When Elijah prayed, the heavens stopped giving rain. For three and a half years there was no rain. Then he prayed, and the Lord sent fire to consume the sacrifice Elijah offered on Mount Carmel. He prayed yet again, and the Lord answered by sending an abundance of rain. (see 1 Kings 17 & 18)

Elijah was a man of the desert. He lived so much of his life in its solitudes. There, in the quietness he really came to know the Lord. There he learned to pray. There the Lord taught, prepared and equipped him for his effective ministry -- the ministry in which prayer was such an essential and central factor.

The Apostle Paul spent three years in the solitudes of the Arabian deserts. There in the quietness he was open to the teaching and training of the Lord. It was there he learned the secret and the power of prayer. The preaching of Paul was so obviously in the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, so was his praying. As we read through the Book of The Acts as well as the Epistles of Paul, we cannot miss the vital role which prayer played in his life and ministry.

Learning ... in the solitude. There are far too many Christians today who are afraid of the solitude. They are reluctant to open themselves to the Lord's desire to teach them those vital lessons which can only be learned in such a quiet place. People would rather be able to continually mingle with the busy crowds.

When Moses had arrived in Midian, he was resting by a well which he found there. It was to this well that the daughters of this priest came with the intention of watering their flocks. There were other shepherds there who attempted to interfere with them as they attempted to water their sheep. Although he was unaware of who they were, "Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock." (v.17) As the result of his intervention on their behalf, their father received Moses into his home.

Was all of this just coincidence? The timing of these events? The people involved? The actions of Moses? The appreciation expressed to him? Was it only coincidence? Certainly not.

The name of this man was "Reuel". That name means "The friend of God!" He was also know as Jethro. It is so significant that it was this man who, in gratitude received Moses into his home, was known as "The friend of God!"

There is no doubt that the name "Reuel" really did so aptly describe this man. Every time the Scriptures refer to him, it is with a most positive emphasis. He clearly lived to honor and serve the Lord. He was, in fact, "The friend of God!" It was into this home, under the influence of this man, the Lord brought His servant Moses!

Reuel: the friend of God. Moses would share the life and home of this man for the next forty years ... to be continually within the influence of this man's character and commitment. Forty years to witness both the life of prayer of the friend of God and the results of that life of prayer. The Lord was to use those forty years to enable Moses to personally develop and apply those significant spiritual traits, to make them an integral part of his own life and character.

As Christians today, we would be well advised to "live with" some of the great man and women of prayer. That is, make a detailed study of their lives. Seek to grasp a deeper, fuller understanding of all that made their lives so rich, effective, and fruitful. Whether we find reference to such people of prayer in the Bible, or in the literature of biography, we can find so much to learn from their lives of believing prayer.

We must not forget that the early years of Moses' life had been spent in a very similar home. Yet, he had been so young then. So much of all that went on around him would have been beyond his understanding. Even so, his life had been so greatly enriched by his experiences during those formative years of his life.

In his more mature years, the Lord would be able to teach him vital principles which he had not been able to learn in those earlier experiences. Also, he would be better able to personally apply the lessons he was learning, grasping how these principles of prayer would apply in his own life and work.

In this realm of prayer, we must never forget the truth that -- God has no favorites. He will faithfully and patiently teach anyone who will reveal a genuine and humble desire to learn. We all start at the same point! We all have the same opportunity to learn to pray effectively.

"Elias [Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed!" (James 5: 17) He was "a man!" Not some super-spiritual man! He started out with no special advantage over us! He learned to "pray earnestly" because he first had the desire to learn to pray earnestly. Then he applied himself to learn to pray earnestly. He wanted the Lord to teach him. He was genuinely ready and willing to learn. How long did it take Elijah to learn to pray like that? "That it might not rain, and it rained not!" He learned to pray with dynamic effectiveness. It just did not happen!

"His disciples said unto Him, LORD, teach us to pray!" (Luke 11: 1) They expressed this strong and deep desire that the Lord would teach them to pray. They had a great willingness to learn.

How long did it take Moses to learn the lessons the Lord wanted to teach him about prayer? Forty years! Forty years when much of his time was spent in solitude in the desert... the rest of his time in the home and under the influence of "the friend of God!" The years which followed, reveal him as a man who had learned to pray -- pray effectively. In prayer, be mighty with God! In prayer, genuinely honor God ... if you would be honored by God.

"And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter." "And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." (vv21, 22)

If we were looking at the experience of Moses in a superficial way, we could too quickly decide that he had become quite content with his lot. He had found a home with Reuel. He had married a wife. There was plenty of work helping to care for the flock which would keep him occupied. Being content with this new life would enable him to put the past behind him. Forget the failure and the threats he had faced in Egypt. He had a totally new life with a new family. He could go on and make the most of his new situation.

It would be easy for us today to assume that this would be the attitude of Moses. This is the kind of attitude which we see so very often. In fact, today, people are encouraged to follow this course. Put the mistakes and failures of the past behind you. Make a new life for yourself.

That may be the philosophy of the world. It certainly was not the attitude of Moses. He revealed his real attitude... along with his deep personal feelings. He did so when he named his first son, "Gershon!" This name actually means, "Stranger there!"

By this means, Moses was expressing and perpetuating something which was a deep personal truth to him: "I have become a stranger in a strange land." Or, "this is a foreign land to me and I will never be able to really feel at home here!" He may have had no choice but to live in Midian for a while. Yet he knew that he would never be able to regard Midian as his true home. It was then, and would always remain, a foreign land to him.

"I have become a stranger!" The word which he uses is best translated by the old term, "Sojourner!" He could not think of himself as a permanent resident. He was a "Transient!" His choice of word reveals a deep inner awareness of his true situation. It had been his own foolish presumption which had compelled him to flee in fear from Egypt. He had run ahead of the leading of the Lord. It was his own action which had created the situation in which, at least for a while, he was compelled to reside in Midian -- a sojourner in a foreign land.

This realization focused his attention on the chastening and disciplining hand of God on his life. He recognized that he was in need of both reproof and correction. He humbly acknowledged his need and submitted to the will and purposes of the Lord.

This experience of Moses so clearly illustrates the experiences which we as Christians often go through. We are so prone to hurry ahead of, or lag behind, the will of God ... failing both to pray and wait for Him to lead. The inevitable result is finding ourselves in personal need of His chastening and discipline ... of both reproof and correction. All this as the result of either the improper or inadequate commitment to prayer.

The Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that the true children of God do experience the chastening and disciplining hand of God. This is His response to our foolish immaturity, applied in His gracious commitment to bring us into the full experience of His will and plan for our lives.

We need to both willingly and humbly let Him have His way. Submit in love and obedience, using the experience as the means to develop a more effective commitment to true prayer as well as a deeper fuller relationship with the Lord.

"And it came to pass in the process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God be reason of the bondage." (v. 23)

This king of Egypt who died was the one who had attempted to have Moses killed. He is the same one who had progressively increased the cruel treatment of the Israelites. It was by his order that the official policy of genocide against the Israelites was put into effect.

He died. A new king began to reign over Egypt -- a new king who perpetuated the old, cruel policies and practices of his predecessor. In effect, nothing had actually changed for the Israelites. Was Moses aware of the death of the king? We do not know. He was aware that "his brethren" were still being held in the most cruel bondage. He also believed that their suffering was continuing because of his failure. He had failed "his brethren" ! He had failed the Lord! He had failed himself!

Moses lived day after day under the dark cloud of his own failure. He had believed that: "God by his hand would deliver them!" (Acts 7: 25) That had been his strong personal conviction. It was the fact which motivated his intervention when he observed the Egyptian taskmaster brutally treating one of "his brethren"!

He had failed! Their great suffering continued. Now God could not, "by his hand deliver them!" He knew that he had been so foolish... acted so impetuously, driven by self-confident presumption. "His brethren" were still in bondage. Still being subjected to the most cruel treatment by the taskmasters. Abused. Beaten. Enduring constant suffering.

Moses remembered. His failure haunted him. If only things had worked out differently. If only he had taken time to pray and seek the Lord's direction. Moses was not the only one who remembered. God remembered! God heard their cry. God had not failed!

We have failed ... but God has never failed! God sought, and still seeks for the person whom He can use -- the right, properly prepared and equipped instrument. Sometimes He must wait until the right instrument is actually ready and available to be used.

"And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none!" (Ezekiel 22: 30)

Moses was both right and wrong! He was right in that God would by his hand deliver the Israelites. He was wrong due to his failure to prayerfully seek to know the Lord's way of using him to deliver the Israelites. He had yet to learn the principle: "The weapons of our warfare … are mighty through God!" (2 Corinthians 10: 4) "Through God!"

He had failed because he had relied on the weapons of the flesh. Thus the Lord brought him into His school of strong discipline ... there to teach His chosen instrument about the weapons which are "mighty through God!"

"He supposed … that God by his hand would deliver them!" (Acts 7:25) He was fully convinced that God had called him to make a difference. Yet, how could he do so?

He had tried! Tried and failed! As the result of his stark failure, he had been forced to flee to live as an exile in the land of Midian. He could not help feeling convinced that his present circumstances only accentuated the humiliating reality -- he was a failure!

Once, back there in Egypt, he had everything going for him. Now, it was all nothing but a total waste! His best intentions and efforts were utterly futile. There was nothing he could do! Nothing!

That was not the way in which God saw his situation! Moses may have wanted to quit; God did not! God was still with Moses ... still personally involved ... still totally committed to work out His perfect plan and purpose.

Progressively, during the long years of solitude, the Lord was able to inject a light of hope. Yes, Moses you have failed. Failed miserably! But the Lord wants you to begin to believe that your failure does not have to be final! No failure need be final!

Listen to the gracious Word of the Lord. The long years of being a stranger in a strange land can be transformed into the most positive benefit to you. God still planned to use Moses! He was committed to use Moses! So, He continued to work most patiently in His servant, preparing and equipping him to be and do all the Lord wanted him to be and do!

The Lord had not been seeking for a man who by brute force would intervene and liberate the Israelites. What kind of man did the Lord want Moses to be? An intercessor! "A man among them that should stand in the gap before Me!" Before Moses could stand before Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites he must first learn to stand before the Lord as "an intercessor"!

The Lord used his long years in the desert as part of his essential preparation. In the solitude, the Lord took him to school and there taught him the incredible power of Intercession. The most effective weapon which he would ever wield would be: "All prayer!"

These lessons were so crucial in the preparation of Moses. They are equally crucial for every Christian to learn today, especially if we would be genuinely effective in the service of the Lord.

Far too many of us see prayer as the last resort. We must learn as Moses did that it always must be given the place of highest priority. God is seeking true intercessors today -- men and women who are personally committed to pay the price involved to stand in the gap before the Lord.

There is a very real cost involved in this ... a high price to pay ... the willingness to go through the school of suffering and sacrifice ... the determination to do the will of God no matter how extensive and thorough the training and preparation may be.

God still seeks for a man, a woman, an intercessor -- one who will choose to personally identify, both with the suffering of those in need, and with God's perfect answer. That is what it means to stand in the gap before the Lord.

"Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb." (v.1)

Forty years had passed. Long years! Years in which the servant of the Lord had been chastened and disciplined. In love and grace the Lord had worked so patiently with this one whom He had chosen as His man to stand in the gap.

Moses had once rushed into the center of activity as the impetuous interferer. Now we see him moving with slow deliberate step. Those years of tending the sheep had made him much more patient ... tolerant ... willing to wait for the appropriate time. The Lord had so carefully and thoroughly refined His servant. In the most genuine sense Moses had been transformed from being the impetuous interferer into the intense intercessor!

Those same long years had introduced Moses to the Lord's gracious process of breaking. Now His servant more closely fitted the pattern which is described by the prophet: "But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word" (Isaiah 66: 2). What a transformation! So thorough! So glorious!

Unaware of the eternal appointment which even then awaited him, "he led the flock to the backside of the desert." This was possibly an area which he had visited many times in the preceding years. He would be quite familiar with the kind of terrain he was passing through, and yet, it was to be so very different on this particular day. This day, in a most significant and special sense, this place was to become "the mountain of God" for Moses.

It was there the Lord was waiting to reveal Himself in this very special encounter. He knew that His servant's time of chastening and discipline was drawing to a close. His process of reproof and correction, teaching and training was achieving the desired goal. God had been continuously working ... applying His plan and purposes so lovingly and patiently. He knew that His gracious work would soon begin to bear the fruit which He desired.

These developments are so inspiring in the way in which they illustrate the Lord's desires for His people today. He longing and graciously desires to take the time to actually make us all He wants us to be. Yes, to chastise, to discipline, even reprove and correct as He patiently teaches and trains us. He works in us "to will and to do according to His good pleasure, " so that at the time He knows is best, He is able to lead us into the place and purpose for which He has prepared us.

Learn the significant and essential principles of prayer! Yield to Him! Be willing to be broken. Humbly submit in the spirit of sincere love which trembles at His Word! Thankfully embrace the cost. To respond in this way leads us to the most wonderful appointment of all --with Him! Think of it: a most dynamic, personal encounter with God!

"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." (v. 2)

Moses had been in the court of Pharaoh those many years before. There, where he had been raised and trained as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. There the conviction had been impressed on him, so that he "supposed" that God would deliver the Israelites through him.

There, in the palace, he had been surrounded by all of the symbols of human power, authority and influence. Everything reminded him of his human training and education. Now, he was out in "the backside of the desert!" Humanly speaking, he was totally alone. There were no human symbols of any kind whatsoever. Just this solitary shepherd who was minding the sheep of his father-in-law.

It was in that remote region, completely removed from all other distractions and diversion that God Himself came to Moses! In that situation in which all of the human support systems could play no role, God spoke to Moses.

God chose the place as well as the accompanying circumstances. He knew that His servant would need to be able to give his complete attention to the Lord and to the Word of the Lord as He spoke to him. God chose the method. New! Startling! Arresting! Emphasizing the great truth which the prophet Zechariah stated: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD!" (Zechariah 4: 6)

"Behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed!" Moses knew that there was no human nor natural explanation for the phenomenon which he was witnessing. He was irresistibly drawn to examine this inexplicable development.

God had been preparing him for this specific moment. All of the teaching and training, the correction and discipline -- all were to equip him as the leader who was learning the vital principles of prayer. All, for this moment, when prayer and intercession would begin to play a predominant role in his life and service.

Every Christian needs to spend quality time at: "the backside of the desert" ... getting away from all other distractions and diversions .... seeking and allowing God to come to reveal His plan and purpose. We cannot suggest how God will come in such a crucial moment; He Himself will choose the means. Yet He will certainly come to reveal Himself, if, and when, we give Him the opportunity to do so. Particularly as we willingly cooperate with Him in His ongoing process of discipline and training.

Do we really want the Lord to come to us in that way? Do we really want to see more of His glory? So that we will really know Him ... His will ... His ways?

Notice, it was Moses himself who made this crucial decision. "I will now turn aside!" He could have dismissed these developments as he gave himself to giving his time and attention to the care of the flock. For forty years the care of the flock had been his life. Yet, his life was not in a rut. Yes, day after day he had taken the sheep out as he sought to find suitable pasture for them. Yet he had eyes to see far more than those immediate and pressing needs. Moses could still lift his eyes to see higher things! To behold the glory!

The external circumstances of his life may have appeared to remain the same day after day. But within Moses himself, a very real change had been taking place. Unseen by man, God had been at work! "Transforming ... by the renewing of the mind!" Moses had become increasingly alert and sensitive, both personally and spiritually.

He had been growing in his personal relationship and his fellowship with God. He had become more and more a man of prayer. As the direct result of this spiritual growth and development, he had come to a much deeper understanding of what it must mean to be a "friend of God!"

"I will now turn aside!" Pause! Look and see! Listen and learn! All of this is an essential part of developing a truly effective prayer life. Becoming more and more open to the Lord. Responsive to His presence ... willing to learn. This was the opportunity for which the Lord had been preparing and patiently waiting ... His servant standing there before the bush which burned with the radiant presence of the Angel, the messenger of the Lord.

Christians today need to see and seek to understand the significance of everything the Lord had done in His servant Moses. Humbly yield to the Lord so that along with Moses we will be able to learn the reason all of these vital principles are so utterly vital to us in our relationship with the Lord.

God seeks people He can use, people who have and are learning the vital principles of genuine prayer -- those principles which will inevitably deepen our relationship with Him, even as they enlarge our grasp of His plan and purpose for our lives and our service.