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Devotional

Pharaoh

Hard-hearted Pharaoh. 

Plague after plague,

he refuses the request

or goes back on his word.

Then.

Misery yields his

sudden

confession of sin. [Exodus 10:16-17]

Pharaoh. Image by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash.

Locusts

And Pharaoh pleads. 

With urgency.

ANYTHING  

to get the 

locusts 

out of the yard  

and off the

dining room table.

Stone heart

But a stone heart 

soon forgets.

And even 

pressing darkness 

doesn’t change his mind.

Barricaded as it is.

With stubborn pride.

Lip service

Sometimes 

plagues 

or discomforts 

birth temporary repentance. 

Lip service 

without 

radical heart change. 

Disobedient

Even in 

tangible, confining 

darkness, 

the disobedient 

spout conditions

for their surrender 

to His ways. 

And miss the freedom

found in wholehearted,

open-handed

release.

To the Lord God Almighty.

Pharaohs

O Lord,

how terrible the night 

for those Pharaohs

who stubbornly refuse 

Your Word.

And miss

Your glory. 

What about you?

How do you pray for those resistant to the Word of the Lord?

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13 replies on “Pharaoh”

These nuggets are poems, Susan, and the story the poems tell is compelling — as is the question at the end of your entry. Thank you

Praying for the Pharaoh of today!!! May God render their hearts surrendered. Thanks for putting into words my thoughts.

Very timely word!
My son’s best friend is from Zimbabwe.
His dad is the only believer in his family.
Night before last we prayed for his grandfather recovering from a broken ankle bone. By morning he had passed away.
Now his father is flying back to Zimbabwe to speak to all his unbelieving family…AGAIN…of Jesus and the hope He affords.
Won’t you pray with us that these Pharoahs in his family will turn to Jesus and be set free?

This is beautifully written. I had to read it several times to make sure each word sunk in. This is one of my favorite things you have written. I’m saving it to read again and again. Thank you

“conditions for surrender to God’s ways” WOW! I will keep that thought in my heart! Thank you!

It’s hard. I pray for hard hearts all the time. I pray for them to have dreams and visions, for the Spirit to soften them. For circumstances to soften them. For Truth to penetrate. It’s hard to keep on. It hurts my heart to see especially those I call friends whose hearts are hard. And I have questions: How long do we keep praying? Is there a time we stop doing this? Thanks for your words.

Thanks for sharing this struggle and questions I’ve asked too. Yes, it’s hard! I remember when I wrote these lyrics: “How long, O Lord, how long before they know You…? It seems too far to hope for and we wonder….” Someday we will see but for now we watch and pray and trust Him.

I would love to hear from you!

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