October 16th

Exodus 17:1-18:27, Mark 1:1-28, Psalm 22:1-11

Did you know that prayer meetings can actually achieve something? It brings to mind the old adage “don’t just stand there, pray something”.

Once upon a time in the middle of the desert, while their nation was fighting away in the plains below, three men went up a mountain to pray. Moses named the place and that name was all about hands being lifted to the Lord. Lifting our hands to God can mean lots of things, it can be raising our praise to him, it can be a sign of being open to his Spirit, it can point others to him and it can lift a situation to him, to name just a couple of things. Here Moses spends the whole time with his hands up, well almost. He is only human after all and his hands drop on a couple of occasions and then things start to go a bit wrong. So the three men up a mountain praying realise that Moses needs to keep his hands up, as a channel of praise, petition and intercession.

It is when we are in communication with God that we see things start to happen. The Israelites were on a massive journey, when we walk with God we need to listen as he tells us the way he wants us to go.

This theme of journeying continues with John the Baptist. He is the one who comes to prepare the way, make straight the paths ready for the Christ, the messiah. John was to be a herald that would lead people to Jesus. But in Mark’s gospel we get straight to the point with Jesus ministry. He calls his disciples and then he’s straight in to the teaching and the healing. One of the the things that the people said in this passage is that he had such authority. John led people to Jesus but once they met him they were well and truly convinced by that first meeting.

We can meet Jesus in prayer each and every day but our reading yesterday, from the end of Matthews gospel, reminds us that we are called to be like John and lead people to Jesus, in the conviction that they will be changed forever by the meeting. Is there someone that you need to introduce to Jesus. The first step is always to pray about it.