In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh in defiance said to Moses, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” In all the plagues God sent to inflict Pharaoh and the Egyptians, He was virtually answering the king’s questions. The Egyptians were a superstitious lot of people who worshipped and served many gods. Among the pantheon of gods and goddesses they honored were: Osiris, the god of the Nile; Nu, the god of life in the river; and Hapi, a fertility god, one that controlled the flood bringing fertility to the Nile. What God did in the first plague of turning the water of the Nile into blood, He had shown Pharaoh who was really in charge of the Nile. If Pharaoh genuinely wanted to know God, he would have gotten part of the answer from this first plague. But unfortunately, he wasn’t seeking to know the truth. So, Exodus 7:25 implied that for seven days all these gods were thoroughly humiliated and ultimately defeated by Jehovah God.
In Exodus 8:1-15, we see the narration of the second plague. In this second blow, God caused an unimaginable swarm of frogs to overrun the whole land of Egypt. It would not be an exaggeration to say that there never were so many frogs seen on earth. God was at it again to prove that He indeed had the upper hand. This time He had defeated Heqet or Hekt, signified by a goddess with the head of a frog. One of the duties of this goddess was to assist in childbirth so most Egyptians would turn to her for protection in childbirth. For us believers, we know that the person who truly has a major say in birth is our Jehovah God. It is He who has given us mankind the instruction to be fruitful and multiply. And it is He who can open barren wombs. We must not turn to superstition concerning childbirth. Let us trust God in every conception and birth.
The great number of frogs that had overrun the country at the behest of God showed that He was truly in control. What’s so funny about this plague was that frogs were even found in ovens and kneading bowls. According to Psalm 105:30, those frogs even went into the chambers of the king. They invaded Pharaoh’s personal and private space so much so that he just had to do something about it. He called for his magicians who could only summon more frogs but not remove them. We can be sure that Pharaoh was not impressed with them at all. For what he wanted was to have them removed and not for more to be added.
So in a tone of exasperation, the king summoned for Moses and Aaron and requested for prayer. He said, “Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” If there is an indication that he was beginning to know who has the power, it’s this verse. However, it’s unthinkable that he should request for prayer. He was slowly recognizing the real power behind the plagues. He could see that God was behind the plague and that only He could take it away. In this request, he was conceding that the God of Israel has the real power. Notice that he knew the only way to this God was prayer and entreaty.
This request for prayer by Pharaoh teaches us something about prayer. For prayer to be effective there must be a personal relationship with God. If it was not, Pharaoh would have just gone before God and made his supplication. But he knew he did not have the right to access because he did not have a relationship with Him. Prayer effectiveness begins when we have a genuine relationship with God. Then and then only can we have access to the heart of our heavenly Father and have our prayer answered.
Interestingly, note that Moses should give Pharaoh the honor of choosing the timing he wanted the frogs to be removed. We may not fathom why Pharaoh did not ask for the frogs be removed there and then but tomorrow. But we can guess why Moses allowed Pharaoh to choose his timing. He was taking a bold step to declare his faith and confidence in the power of God. By now he was confident that He had a prayer answering God. And he knew that regardless of what time Pharaoh wanted the miracle to happen, His God would be well able to do it.
Do we have the same confidence in prayer? More than just telling us that we have a God who is sovereign, this passage tells us that we have a prayer answering God. Confidently, we can come to Him. His invitation to us in Jeremiah 33:3 is this: ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell (show) you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ What a privilege! Don’t forfeit it!
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