“The Lord will you fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
-Exodus 14:14
That is a great verse. Picture the scene. You’ve got the people of Israel. They’ve fled from, been delivered from slavery in Egypt. God was leading them, a pillar of cloud by day, fire by night. He leads them to the edge of the Red Sea. Which is interesting because the Egyptian army by now, is regretting what they have done, and they’re trying to overtake the Israelites. And God leads them to basically a dead end. They’ve got this massive body of water in front of them. And behind them is an Egyptian army that wants to overtake them.
When we find ourselves at a dead end like the people of God in Exodus 14, we can rest assured that as God fights for us.
And so they start to panic. They say, “What do we do? We’re about the be overtaken. This is going to be worse for us again.” And God says to them, “Just be silent. The Lord is gonna fight for you.” And what happens after that? God does what only God can do. He splits that sea in half. So you got a wall of water on two sides. And he leads the Egyptians through the Red Sea on dry land. Through the sea on land.
Exodus 14:14 Reminds Us of the Power of God
How is that possible? That’s only possible because of the power of God. They get to the other side, and the Egyptians are like, “Okay, we’re gonna follow after them.” But that was not a good idea, because the water comes crashing down over the Egyptians.
And indeed, what God had said in Exodus 14:14 proved true. Just like his promises always prove true. The Lord will fight for you. He fought for his people. And all they had to do was be silent.
So think about the struggles that you’re facing, the challenges you are walking through. The things in your life where you don’t see a way out, you don’t see a way through this or that obstacle. And this is where I just want to encourage you in prayer today, to look to the God that fights for his people. And ask him for his provision. Ask him to show his power, in a way that can only be attributed to his glory.
Let’s pray right now. God I pray for people right now who are struggling with sin and temptation that they can’t seem to shake. I pray show your power. God shower your grace I pray. In a way that enables the brother or sister to run from that temptation, to be free from that sin. God I pray for that.
Exodus 14:14 Prays for Christ to Enter Our Lives
God I pray for people that we want to see come to Christ in our lives. God we pray, please fight for their salvation, please oh God, please, please, please. Draw them to faith in you, open their eyes to your grace and your love for them. Please oh God save them.
God we pray for family members and friends who are hurting physically, who are walking through physical challenges. God please show yourself strong on their behalf. Fight for them, help them. Give them everything they need to endure in the middle of this trial.
God I pray for those who are walking through relational struggles in marriage, in family, this way or that way. God I just pray, show yourself strong on their behalf. Give them grace, give them strength when they don’t have any strength. God in their weakness, please show yourself strong. Give them wisdom when they don’t know what to do. Give them hope in the middle of despair.
God we praise you. You are the God who fights for us, who provides for us, as we plead before you. We trust in you when we have nothing in and of ourselves. When we find ourselves at a dead end, like Exodus 14, we need you, we need you. God please fight for us as we trust in you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
