The Amen of Action

The Amen of Action
Exodus 14: 10-22 (September 14, 2008)

1) The Text

10As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.” 19The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

2) The Context

Exodus is the second book of the Old Testament, and is part of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Jews refer to these books as "The Torah". At times, they are referred to as "The Law", although "Torah" means teaching. Exodus centers on the rescue of God's chosen people from captivity in Egypt and the making of the great covenant, or agreement with God, at Mount Sinai.

3) Interpretation

One of the most powerful prayers in all of Scripture is one that has no words, no vocal sounds. It is not a meditation, but rather a prayer that is nothing more than the sound of a footstep. It is the amen of action. Moses and the children of Israel have left Egypt. They stand before the Sea of Reeds and suddenly they hear the sounds of the Egyptian army led by Pharoah himself. Moses confidently tells them to watch and see how God will save them. But with the sound of the Egyptians coming closer and closer, God responds to Moses with these words: Mah Tizak Alai, Why do you cry out to me? Tell the people to walk forward.

So the answer to their prayers was to walk into the water. The people were expecting God to respond to their prayers by acting on their behalf. God’s answer was for the people to be participants in the fulfillment of their own prayers! The sound of their step is the human response to the prayers we address to God—it is the amen of action.

Too often, we think that a prayer is merely a verbal exercise. We offer God praise as an introduction to our wish list for the week. Can you hear the words that God spoke to Moses now addressed to each of us? Mah Tizak Alai, Why do you cry out to me? Go and respond to your own prayer, take a step into the unknown, take a risk and see what will happen.

Prayer is not a spectator sport. Prayer is a covenantal exercise, in which we work with God to find the answers that we seek. The lesson that Moses learned at the shore of the Sea of Reeds, reminds us that prayer can and should be a prelude to action. Salvation comes when people are willing to respond to their own prayer with the amen of action, inspired by the faith that teaches that we will not walk alone.

We take not leaps of faith, but rather leaps of action. The story of Moses and the Children of Israel is the story of our own lives. Who among us has not felt overwhelmed by the challenges that threaten to wash over us? They may be personal issues: matters of health, finance, or family. They may be more global concerns, hunger, war, a Tsunami, or evil in the world. The situations that we face are no less grave than that of Moses and the Children of Israel standing at the shore of the sea with water on one side and the Egyptian army on the other. The only question is whether we can begin the fulfillment of our own prayers by taking action, with the faith and confidence that God will be at our side.

The stories of our lives may not be as dramatic as the splitting of the sea, or as well known. But that does not mean that God is any less concerned about us than the people of Moses’ time. God’s words to Moses continue to echo throughout the generations unto our own time. Mah Tizhak Alai, Why do you cry out to me? Tell the people to walk forward. That is God’s answer to us today as well.

Muster the same courage, the same faith and the same vision as did Moses’ generation and walk forward knowing that God will walk at our side. Be a participant in your own destiny, and along with God, help to form the amen of action.

4) Thought Exercise

How can we use prayer to engage with God and seek answers to our questions and concerns?

How can we become better participants in the fulfillment of our own prayers?