A WORD FOR TODAY 16 OCTOBER 2022

*A WORD FOR TODAY*

*THERE IS POWER IN PRAYER*

_"So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Am′alek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Am′alek prevailed."(Exodus 17:10-11)_

*LIFE IS A MYSTERY*

_*There are so many things in life that we do not understand why it happens and sometimes the mysteries of life are so intense that we seem to be lost in what is given. In such moments, we are encouraged to turn to God who shows us a way out and help us to make a sense of the situation confronting us.*_

*IN PRAYER WE COMMUNICATE WITH GOD*

_The readings of todays liturgy focus on the theme of prayer and why we should pray without ceasing. Prayer, truly is the channel through which we communicate with God, it is the raising up of our mind and heart to Him and it is a dialogue in which we praise Him and let Him know of our needs and then we wait for His response which will be in accordance to His will._

*MOSES THE INTERCESSOR, JOSHUA THE PRAYER WARRIOR*

_*In the first reading we read the beautiful story of how God gave victory to the people of Israel over the Amalekites. Moses went to the hill with Aaron and Hur to intercede, while Joshua went to the battle ground to fight. Their action amounts to prayer and their persistence is key to their victory. If you can pray with persistence and patience, then you are bound to win your battle undisputably.*_

*WHO ARE THE AMALEKITES*

_They are descendants of Amalek, a grand son of Esau. They were a fierce normadic tribe that lived in the desert region of the dead sea. They live by aggressively conducting frequent raid on other settlements and carrying off booty. It is an insult of high degree to call an Israelite a friend of Amalek, (Check Deuteronomy 25:17-19) The Amalekites in the spiritual warfare represents the enemy (the devil) that is to be conquered._

*VICTORY COMES THROUGH PRAYER*

_*Prayer involves withdrawal and persistence. If you must pray and do it well, you must withdraw into yourself to be able to stand before God and dialogue with Him. Moses withdrew to the hill and raised his hands in intercession. When his hands became weak, Aaron and Hur supported him and it helped Joshua to prevail in battle. We are victorious when we are strong in prayer, but we begin to lose the battle when we become weak and pray less.*_

*GOD CAN DO ALL THINGS*

_We must pray with persistence, patience and trust. God can do all things and He can answer our prayers when we pray, but He answers in His own way and at His own time. We must learn to accept His will because it will always be the best for us. Moses remained in God's presence until the battle is won and the widow refused to leave the presence of the judge until she was vindicated. Her insistence broke the resistance and stubbornness of the judge. We must learn to pray and wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31) until we receive what we seek. ( *This is simply called FAITH*) If there is a voice, a heart and a knee to pray, then God's ear is constantly open to hear us and help us for our help comes from Him (Psalm 121). When our our prayer comes from a pure and clean heart, the Lord hears us speedily._

*KEEP KNOCKING AT GOD'S DOOR AND NEVER GIVE UP*

_*Keep knocking at the door of God through prayer. Have faith in Him and never lose heart when you pray, because to achieve goals beyond your reach, you must learn to pray and work hard without getting tired. In the spiritual warfare we need spiritual weapons to win and prayer is our true and authentic weapon that can destroy the evil one. (Ephesians 6:12-18 we are not fighting against flesh and blood.. 2 Corinthians 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual to destroy strongholds)*_

*NOURISH YOUR HEART WITH GOD'S WORD*

_The Scripture should be our reservoir through which we recharge ourselves. When we read and meditate on the word of God, we shall have the words to use in prayer and we will have the strength to be able to proclaim Christ as St. Paul tells us in the second reading. We must also learn to support one another to pray well and we must pray for each other. Be an intercessor, be a prayer warrior and always stand in the gap for others as Moses did and you will definitely be victorious in all your battles._

_*Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you begin your day and do have a miraculous Sunday. May God answer your prayers and give you victory. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*_

*Meditation:* Exodus 17:8-13/Psalm 121:1-8/2 Timothy 3:14-4:2/Luke 18:1-8

*Watch-Word:* Pray until something happens (PUSH)

*Prayer is the lifestyle of those who believe in God. We must pray constantly with faith and we will always have victorious testimonies to share.*

(Twenty-Ninth Sunday of the Year C)

*© Rev. Fr. Augustine Eleke*