Call to Action

But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they rolled a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Exodus 17:12

Let me just preface this piece with the admission that, yes, I have repented.

Whenever my schedule would get exceedingly hectic I used to tell my husband that if only my calendar had bigger squares on it I would be able to accomplish more. My philosophy was that if there was room to write an action on the calendar, there was time to do it. There is a flaw in that philosophy - which is not the topic of this missive. Back to the point, yesterday my calendar needed bigger squares.

Naturally, my response was to get offended on someone else’s behalf - like I have time to pick up someone else’s issue. Justifying it to myself as a righteous indignation allowed me to carry it a few hours longer, lose some sleep, get discouraged and generally irritate myself and those around me. Whining to the Lord this morning, He gently reminded me (I’m sure the two by four is gentle compared to other means He has) to shut up and start praying.

We have an incredible group of new legislators (and some seasoned ones) who are servants of the Lord Most High. You wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell that so far, but it is time to share the blame for their lethargy. A legislator who chooses to go against the grain in this process is setting him / herself up for a beating. There are a thousand ways that those who disagree with you can make life difficult. You are subject to ridicule. Your legislative package can be stalled. You are not invited to participate with the “in crowd.” You can be lied to and about. If that doesn’t help you envision what they are up against, think about the play ground in junior high. You have the counterparts to the cool kids, nerds and geeks around the Capitol - and they have been known to act accordingly.

So, what is the solution? When Moses sent Joshua into battle over the Amalekites, he stood on top of the hill overlooking the battle and raised the rod of God in his hand. As long as his hand was up, Joshua was winning. When he became too tired to stand there any longer, Aaron and Moses brought him a rock to sit on and held his hands up for him.

By virtue of our vote for these godly men and women, we have sent them into battle on our behalf. We have to be constantly raising our hands over them and covering them in prayer as they do battle. When we drop that coverage, they will lose.

There are a lot of bills that will be considered on the House floor today. I challenge each of you who are in the Capitol to take a few minutes out of your day to walk to the House gallery and pray over the Texas Legislature. Ask the Lord to give the members the courage of their conviction. Pray for divine wisdom and discernment as they are debating the bills. Pray that they will fear the Lord more than any man or constituency group.

God is not restrained by time or distance. For those of you who are not in the Capitol, accept your responsibility to help solve our state’s problems. Add your prayers to the chorus coming from here. Most importantly, remember that this is not a one time call to prayer.

Lord, stir up your prayer warriors. Bring them into the battle. Amen