Intercession for Our Armed Forces

Psalm 33:16-18 says “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.”

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The strongest battalions melt like snowflakes when God is against them.” America has been blessed with great and powerful military forces, yet Americans must understand that the Lord is not on the side of those who have the biggest war heads and largest armies. His eyes watch out for those who look to Him as Lord and who fully understand that victory only comes from Him.

The Word of God lays out a format which can be followed in battling the enemies of a nation with a motto, “The People of God” or “In God We Trust.” There are those who are trained to go and fight and there are those who are commissioned to pray.

This is so clearly seen in Exodus 17:10-13. Exodus records the events of a battle commissioned by Moses and anointed by God to fight against the Amalekites who threatened the people of God. The warrior leading the Lord’s army was Joshua, whose name means “Yahweh is salvation.” The Bible says, “So Joshua fought the Amalekites… Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired… Aaron and Hur held up his hands… so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekites army with the sword.”

In Exodus 17:9 we read of Moses telling Joshua that he would be holding the staff of God in his hand. This staff of God was a way of appeal to the Lord. Our appeal today is to enter the throne of grace in the name of Jesus Christ. Christians are not only to be light upon a hill, but intercessors as well. Our nation is fighting an enemy right now and Christians are to be quick and steadfast in prayer as Moses, Aaron and Hur. Our armed forces need God’s intervention as much as Joshua’s army did.