The Lord is my banner, my victory.
His name holds the power to conquer.
His love deepens my roots against the storm.
I call out His name as the world grows darker.
I kneel before His presence.
I surrender it all at His feet.
He adorns my head with a crown.
He declares my victory.
I am strengthened by His armor.
No weapon formed against me will prosper.
The enemy tries to kill me,
But His blood has made me sharper.
I am dressed in His mercy.
I praise His name and banner.
I proclaim His Word before me.
I receive the undeserved Love and Favor.
I will be His warrior.
No matter the battle ahead.
He is my commanding officer
No calamity I will dread.
Defeat is what He calls the enemy.
His lies cannot infiltrate the Blood.
How much stronger are we
Than when we demonstrate His love.
He has won every battle,
Of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
My future resides within His palm.
So no event will end in sorrow.
Jehovah Nissi, Hallelujah!
I carry His flag within my heart.
I can share in His victory,
Because Jesus, because Jesus did my part.
Devotional: “Names of God” series: Jehovah Nissi
In times like this, it is easy to feel defeated. It is easy to feel depressed, without hope, and to be overcome by fear. It is harder to see the “bright-side”, to be a voice of encouragement, to be a beacon of hope, but because of Jesus, we don’t have to do anything to have the joy, peace, hope, grace, mercy, and favor of God. Jesus living within us automatically allows us to have and access His kingdom on earth. However, we do have a role to play. In order to access His kingdom and share in the benefits of the Lord, we must choose to have faith. We must choose to “seek first the kingdom of God.” We must choose to lift up the Lord’s name with praise and thanksgiving. We must choose to seek His wisdom, and we must choose to offer forgiveness. There has never been more of an urgency to seek the face of God than there is today. Recognize this time of isolation, solitude, and reflection as a gift from God. He is drawing in His church to renew their minds, to restore their hearts, and to transform their spirit. He is longing for the church to become healthy and well–not just physically, but spiritually.
Above all, we must remember during times of trials and valleys that the Lord is our banner! He is Jehovah-Nissi! The first time we here this name of God is in Exodus 17: 15 after the Israelites had defeated the Amalek army. The first real battle of war the Israelites face after the exodus from Eqypt. “Moses built an altar there and names it Yaweh-Nissi (which means ‘The Lord is my banner’).” This battle is significant for the purpose and destiny of Israel. This is also the first time we meet Joshua, the man who would later become the infamous military commander who brings the nation of Israel into the promise land. There are many things that this battle can teach us about God, about prayer, and about our role in the kingdom.
At the beginning of this story, (Exo. 17: 8-10) the Israelites are suddenly attacked by the Amalek army. This particular army is trained in pillaging other nations and gaining their spoils. This is how this particular nation made money. What is also interesting about this nation is that it is a cousin to Israel. Amalekites were descendants of Amalek, a grandson of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob (Israel). The Israelites, at this time, had not faced war with another nation since leaving Egypt, so when they are attacked they are not prepared to fight. However, Moses calls on Joshua, a brilliant military leader and man of God, to gather some men of Israel to go and fight the Amalek army. I could not imagine being one of those men, who were not really trained in battle–they were once slaves of Pharaoh, and being asked to fight an army that being a soldier was its profession. Talk about intimidating! However, Joshua and the men knew they would not be alone on the battle field. God would be with them, and He would go before them and protect the nation of Israel, as long as, Moses stood on the hilltop with his staff raised and praying to God and interceding for the nation of Israel.
Joshua and his men go and fight the Amalek army, and they were successful only when Moses would hold up his staff. As soon as Moses would drop his hand, the Amalek army would advance on the Israelites. So this seems like an easy task for Moses, right? Well, Moses is human, and I don’t any humans who could hold up a piece of wood over their heads and pray for an entire day without dropping their hand. Moses grew weak and could not hold the staff up. However, Moses had gone to the hill top with Aaron and Hur, and these two young men found him a rock to sit on. Each man took Moses’ arms so that he could keep praying. By sunset, Joshua had conquered the battlefield. (Exo. 17: 10-13) This is a key moment. Moses’ role is so vital to the success of Israel.
First, Moses’ relationship with God brought God’s presence and provision to the Israelites. Moses’ direction from God had already freed them from the Egyptians, and his constant communication with God provided them with manna and sustenance for their physical bodies during the long 40 year journey through the dessert. Israel needed Moses, but notice what is happening above. Moses is delegating the responsibility of protecting Israel to Joshua. He needs him to physically fight against the enemy while Moses did the most important work which was to pray for Israel.
I find this to be such a clear picture of our role with God. We are to be working in tandem with God, praying for His kingdom come and will be done, while also making plans to defeat and conquer the trials and enemies within our lives. Prayer is so vital in times such as this. Our nation is being attacked by a foreign entity, and we as the body have the important role of praying for our nation, our leaders, and each other. We have a duty to hold up each others arms to sustain one another through the valley.
So, how do we pray and intercede for our nation?
In Exodus 17:10, it shows Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbing a near by hilltop that overlooks the battlefield. Notice he is not on the front lines holding the “rod of God”, but instead he is heading away from the battle. This is strategic of Moses. First of all, in our last post, we know that when communicating with God Moses usually separated himself away from the crowd to meet with God’s presence, and usually the secluded place was on the “mount.” This particular hilltop in Rephidim was a foothill to Mount Sinai–the place where Moses receives the Ten Commandments. We need to find a place, with no distractions, to meet with God’s presence. Second of all, Moses goes to the hilltop to gain perspective of the fight. When are faced with battles, it is wise to separate ourselves from the fight to communicate with God and to gain “His” perspective. We need to be getting in the word of God daily. We need to be in His presence daily. We need to be worshiping Him daily. We need to be in constant prayer, communing with our Lord. This is how we intercede for our nation.
Just as Aaron and Hur held up the arms of their spiritual leader, we also should be lifting up our leaders: pastors, govenors, mayors, senators, and yes, even the president. Not just those we agree with, but especially for those we don’t. We should be sending words of encouragement, joy, and peace. We need to speak life into their families and positions so that they will also remain strong in the Lord, and their hearts and spiritual antennas will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. This is so important. Christ calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is how we love these neighbors. Regardless of who they are, we kneel and pray for their protection and for God’s favor to be over them.
Intercession is so important, and Moses shows the nation of Israel and the Amalek army that God’s power is victorious. This is also a foreshadowing moment of Christ’s ultimate intercession for us on the cross. He is the Almighty Intercessor. He is constantly approaching the Father on our behalf.
If we want to see the victory of God, we must intercede continuously and earnestly. Epaharus of the Colossian church prayed fervently for his community of believers. In Colossians 4:12-13, Paul states, “Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and servant of Christ Jesus send you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect and fully confident to that you are following the whole will of God. I can assure you he prays hard for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.” This is a spiritual leader who cares not just for his church but also for his community. He “doted” on his people with prayer. What a powerful and victorious picture of how we should be praying for our community, our families, our leaders, and our nations. God promises victory to those who fear him because rightful fear in the Lord aligns priorities, and it allows for you to be a co-worker of Christ to further God’s kingdom in this world. Psalm 60:4, David states, “But you have raised a banner for those who fear you–a rallying point in the face of attack.” When you allow God the victory, he not only claims the battleground, but he restores the land. He becomes the one who rallies in the face of the enemy. But in order for this to happen, we must step out of the way for God to shine. We must give up the command, and we must allow the captain of our eternal souls to call the shots.
Throughout this “shelter in place” experience, I have been hearing a pattern of words from God through multiple avenues. We cannot experience the victory of Christ in our nation because our priorities need to be called into alignment. We cannot experience the victory of Christ in our nation because we are too addicted to living comfortably and too dependent on predictability. We cannot experience the victory of Christ in our nation because our homes have become refuges for idols. We cannot experience victory in our nation because we have simply bought the lie that “we’ve got this.” God calls his people out bondage many times throughout the Bible. What a beautiful display of unfailing love, unconditional forgiveness, and undeserved hope. He is once again calling us out of bondage, and He is lovingly giving us all the time in the world to do it. The real victory He has already accomplished, but we have to be willing to raise His banner. We have to record the victory for others to see.
Lastly, in Exodus 17:14, it states, “After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, ‘Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means ‘the Lord is my banner’).” God wants us to remember the times he has shown you victory, and he not only wants you to remember them. He wants you to record them as a permanent and physical reminder what God has done in the supernatural for you. The purpose of the tangible reminder is for when the next time a battle emerges before you that you will know to raise your flag of victory and bring glory to God.
I leave you with this. “In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place” (Isaiah 11:10). This is at the heart of my prayer for our nation. May we become a land worthy of His residence.
Please let me pray for you: Heavenly Father, there are no words to describe Your worth. Your love for us is overwhelming and continual. Thank you Lord Jesus, for Your sacrifice and for claiming victory over the enemy for my sake. Thank you Lord for all of the undeserved blessings You have given me. Thank you Lord for Your provision, thank you Lord for Your peace, and thank you Lord for Your mercy and grace. Lord, I ask that You bless each person reading this today. I ask that You send Your protection to surround them and their loved ones. I ask that You give them joy and peace in the midst of all of this uncertainty. Lord, help us to keep our priorities in alignment to Your word, and guide our hearts and minds to the truth daily. We need You more than ever Lord to heal our hearts, our families, our neighbors, our enemies, and to unify us in the name of Jesus. We believe that You are Jehovah-Nissi. You are our banner of victory and we raise our flags to bring You glory. We love you Lord. To You be the glory, in Jesus Name Amen.
Scriptures to Study:
Songs of Worship:
Surrounded (Fight My Battles) by Upperroom
The Crimson Robe 
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