Hit the Target in Prayer
Some of the unnamed women of the Bible are my heroines. Among my favorites is the no-name woman of Thebez who literally saved her city. (See Judges 9:50-57).
The wicked king Abimelech–son of Gideon and a concubine– had ruled with terror for three years, killing seventy of his half-brothers and destroying one city of a thousand people. His next target was to burn Thebez.
When he and his men captured the city, there was a strong tower in the center where all the men and women had fled and shut themselves up on the top. Abimelech fought against it and drew near the door of the tower to burn it.
Then comes the story of our heroine: “But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, ‘Draw your sword and kill me lest men say of me, a woman killed him.’ So his young man thrust him through, and he died.” (Judges 9:53-54)
How did the king know it was a woman who hurled the device that hit him? Only a woman would have used this upper revolving millstone because it was a domestic utensil used for grinding grains into flour– a woman’s work. A man would have attacked with a weapon of war, such as a spear or bow and arrow, no doubt. To die at the hand of a woman was a disgrace in the ancient Near East.
This unnamed woman had nothing to lose. She knew she’d be dead if she didn’t do something — and so would her people. She used what was available, an upper millstone. Her aim was on target, specific. The results: the wicked king was killed. She lived and her people were freed from terror.
We could say she hit the bulls-eye. The Hebrew word for intercessor or intercession is paga (paw-GAH) meaning “to come between, to light upon, to assail, to cause to entreat, to meet on behalf of another.” When an Israeli soldier hits the mark in target practice he shouts “paga” which is the modern Hebrew equivalent of bulls-eye.1
Effective intercessors seek to see things from God’s vantage point so they can hit the bulls-eye with accuracy in prayer. The Lord is a strong tower to those who know Him.
“When we allow the Holy Spirit to intercede through us…He will cause our prayers to light upon (paga) the right person or place, in the right way, at the right time, bringing forth the will of God in situations. And that’s right good!” writes Dutch Sheets in Intercessory Prayer.2
The woman of Thebez was in the right strategic place. Intercession keeps us by the Spirit in the right strategic spot, but unlike this woman we don’t use our hands. We wield our weapon with our mouth in intercession. For example, our spiritual weapons can be:
- The name of Jesus—our authority. Psalm 44:4-7. Luke 10:19.
- The blood of Jesus. I John 1:7-9.
- Praise. To glorify God, terrify the enemy. 2 Chronicles 20.
- Clap and shout. Psalms 47:1; Zephaniah 3:14,15; Psalm 144:1.
- Joy and laughter. Psalm 126:1-2.
- Pray as led by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16,28; Ephesians 6:18
- Fasting. Isaiah 58:6; Nehemiah 1:4,7; Daniel 9:3,5. 3
We become better equipped to pray effectively as we read and study the Bible–our guidebook and by asking the Holy Spirit for strategy. Let’s pray as the Holy Spirit leads and hit the target.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the example of the unnamed woman who saved her city. We are grateful that You know our name and You will alert us to situations that need our prayers. Help us stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Station us at the right place at the right time to accomplish what You want done through our cooperation to pray. I ask this in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Scriptures: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4 NKJV)
And He [Jesus] said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done [held holy and revered] on earth as it is in heaven.’” (Luke 11:2 AMPC)
Footnotes:
1.Al Noval, Hebrew Honey: A Simple and Deep Word Study of the Old Testament (Houston, Tex., C&D International, 1987), 143-144.
2. Dutch Sheets, Intercessory Prayer (Ventura, Calif., Regal, 1996), 99.
3. Quin Sherrer, excerpted from her commentary on Judges 9: 50-57 in Women of Destiny Bible, (Nashville, Tenn., Thomas Nelson, 2000), 283.
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