Prayer and the Word

Scripture:

Exodus 18:19-20  "Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you!  You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about he statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do".

Observation:

Jethro,  the father in law of Moses, confronted him about how he was leading the people.  Moses had been doing everything and hearing every case the people had.  He was judging people from morning till night and Jethro realized he couldn't continue in this manner.  Jethro's idea was that Moses would represent the people before God and he would teach the people what was expected of them.  This is a very similar prescription that was given in Acts 6 to the early apostles.  They were to give themselves to prayer and ministry of the Word.

Application:

I know in my own life, that I get involved in so many areas that I shouldn't be.  I try to fix everything and make everyone's life easier.  I struggle to ask people for help.  In doing so, I neglect my greater responsibilities as a pastor of prayer and seeking God and spending time in His word to deliver a strong message to His people.

Prayer:

Father, this keeps coming up recently over and over again and I realize You are speaking to me.  Help me to find solutions that will equip and empower others to do the technical work so I can spend more time in prayer and preparation of Your word.  I see what I am doing is not right, but I need your guidance on how to fix it.  Lead me Holy Spirit.  I want to be more effective for you.

Yours,
Jeff