TO CHEW ON: "And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people." Exodus 11:3
One of the ways God uses to accomplish His purposes on earth is to give His human servants favor.
[What is favor? The dictionary defines it as: something helpful, advantageous or considerate done or granted freely as a gesture of goodwill; an attitude of friendliness; being looked upon with liking or approval; special treatment; kind permission; something that helps or furthers an undertaking.]
God predicted to Moses at the burning bush that He would give the Israelites favor with the Egyptians (Exodus 3:21). Our focus verse is the writer's observation that this prediction came about. And we see it playing out in the next chapter as the Israelites "plundered" the Egyptians, receiving from them whatever they asked of gold, silver, and clothes (Exodus 12:35,36).
This is not the only place in the Bible where we see people blessed with favor.
- Joseph found favor, first with Potiphar, then the prison keeper, and later with Pharaoh himself (Genesis 39:4; 21-23; 41:39,42).
- Esther was favored by all who saw her and King Xerxes, who chose her to be his queen. He later granted her favor by enacting a law that allowed the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies (Esther 2:15, 17; 8:5).
- The boy Jesus had favor (Luke 2:52).
- So did the early Christians (Acts 2:47).
I believe we can and should ask for favor to carry out the assignments God gives us. Barbara Billet in the introduction to the scripture prayer for favor on her book Praying with Fire says:
"The favor of God will open doors that men say are impossible to open. It will change regulations and give you preferential treatment to get you where God wants you to go. … Favor … will cause you to be noticed and cause people to be drawn to you like a magnet" Praying With Fire p. 88, emphasis added.
PRAYER: Dear God, please open doors of favor so that I and my activities will further Your kingdom today. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
